


Path's Divergence

by StarGirl11



Series: Cosmogony Effect [1]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: 90s anime based but it goes off, Alternate Universe, Bullying, Earthquakes, F/F, F/M, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Prosthesis, Rewrite, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Survivor Guilt, hydrophobia, tsunami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-02-04 15:04:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 33
Words: 322,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12773568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarGirl11/pseuds/StarGirl11
Summary: 14-year-old Usagi Tsukino had thought she had seen it all. Having barely survived the earthquake and tsunami that decimated her hometown she's still adjusting to the new life she and her parents are attempting to construct in Tokyo. It's been a tough last two years and she still has a rough time ahead of her but she's hoping with help of her remaining family and friends everything will eventually go back to the quasi-normal she lived in.Luna has been hunting for Sailor Moon, the girl destined to lead the sailor senshi in the battle against Queen Beryl, for as long as she can remember. When she sees Usagi one day she sees potential and hope not having a clue of the scars both physical and mental the young girl hides.Luna does as she sees fit and awakens Usagi as Sailor Moon. But the senshi she gets is not the one she is expecting. Now dealing with a skittish, nervous, under-confident, and already traumatized senshi vs the happy go lucky girl, she was searching for will make the fight with the enemy a very different story.And a slight push down a different path when three girls meet earlier than they should have will forever change the well-known legend of Sailor Moon. Rewrite of A Different Path





	1. New Moon Rising

**Author's Note:**

> First off why did it take me so long to get this to you? When I last updated in August of 13 I was headed into a deep burnout. I spent around 8 months where I was unable to write anything much this monster of a story, trust me I tried to work on it, I think spent about 5 minutes hissing at my computer screen before I realized I needed a break. When I finally came out of it my writing style had undergone a shift again and I cringed at the thought of working on the original version. So I decided a rewrite was in order. But I wasn’t quite ready and fully out of recovery yet. I spent NaNo of 2014 working on the idea that is my next planned storyand then slowly began to work on the new version after taking December off. I’ve taken the policy of taking the month after NaNo off to give myself a breather and prevent another burnout, it’s harder than it sounds. NaNo 15 rolls around and after going through 3 different openings I finally start actually picking an intro and begin truly working on it. 2016 wasn’t kind to me (Two surgeries, pneumonia and my Mom got diagnosed with cancer (she’s doing well!) all in the course of 11 months), so I end up not getting much work done outside of NaNo again. 2017 emerges and when life finally started calming down in the summer I made the decision that I wasn’t going to wait all the way until NaNo again to work on it. And I start setting deadlines finding ways to engage and not over exert myself.
> 
> Second and maybe most important, there have been several changes. I’m not going to name them off, mainly because I’m expecting new readers and I don’t want to spoil anything before we even get started, but old readers are going to pick up on them quickly, as in the first scene quickly. New readers are welcome to check out the old one if they wish, I’m leaving it up so old readers or curious readers who stumble upon it first by accident can be directed here. Just keep in mind it’s a bit dated. 
> 
> Speaking of new readers welcome aboard. Thanks for checking this out. This whole crazy idea began life in Summer of 2012 when I pondered what would have happened if Haruka had gotten stuck in the time episode from Episode 9 during a rewatch (which I’ll admit the thought of was a lot more hilarious than this turned out to be). From there it spiraled into well this thing. 
> 
> A slight note just so everyone knows. Chapters are planned for every other week on Fridays. Preferably in the evening but no guarantee. This is to keep me and my beta from getting overloaded. I would like to keep as far ahead of the posting chapter scheduled as possible. Once I’m actually done writing and getting it edited I might consider switching to a once a week format. But only then.
> 
> I’ll bring this up again when we get to the Black Moon Arc since that is where this kicks in for the most part but keep in mind I do take elements from the manga. Particularly the final fights I always felt were just a bit better in the manga then the 90s anime. Not that I don’t love some of the 90s finales, I just think the manga did it better to be honest. I say for the most part and only starting with Black Moon because I liked the Classic Finale in the 90s. So yeah if you’re a 90s anime purist maybe stay away from this? 
> 
> This is an alternative adaption of the 90s anime so I do lift a lot of episode ideas from it. However not every episode is going to get converted. This is due to a combination of reasons including: can’t quite wrap my head around a full-blown chapter alternate version, with the current characters the episode no longer works, and maybe the biggest: I don’t feel like rewriting all 200 episodes (this is still fairly lengthy even without all 200. I love the 90s anime I do. I grew up with it and even if I do have a preference to the manga now that I’m older I still like it but there’s some stuff from it that just doesn’t work in this). So yeah episodes got cut. IE: Jadeite arc in the anime is about 13 episodes while in this its only eight chapters. 
> 
> Dedicated to every single person in the past 4 years that put the old version on alert, favorited it, or just left a comment. The fact you guys never really gave up on me finishing this is what made me finally get serious about this rewrite. I hope this turns out to be worth the wait for you all.

Chapter 1  
New Moon Rising

_It was one of those dreams again — the one with the white castle against the starry sky and the seemingly endless gardens. It was pretty even if it was odd that she seemed to keep having dreams about this place. Honestly of all the things she expected to have reoccurring dreams of this wasn’t it._

_She frowned looking around. From what little she had been able to piece together through the dreams it seemed like she was somewhere near the front of the building, judging by her height she was definitely younger than her current self._

_“Serenity!” She heard someone call turning in the direction of the voice. She still couldn’t see who exactly was talking, but she could hear someone else call out from the same direction, “Come play with us!”_

_“Coming!” She heard herself call back. She glanced back towards the gardens one last time. She could make something out in the distance beyond the horizon but wasn’t sure what it exactly was. A mystery for another dream she guessed as she turned and headed in the direction of where the voices had originated from. Maybe today she would get a face to these voices finally._

_“Harmonia!” She called happily as she rounded a corner. But before she could finally get one of her seemingly never-ending questions answered the scene faded away again._

“That weird dream again.” Usagi muttered to herself sitting up in bed. Rubbing sleep her eye while looking out the window for a second, she had been having the dreams on and off now for several months, and she could never make any sense of them. But then again, they were just dreams, so the girl wasn’t entirely sure why that bothered her to begin with.

Her eyes moved over to the clock and noticed it was flashing. Power had gone off apparently at some point in the night. Usagi grabbed her cell phone from the side of the bed hitting a button to bring up the screen to check the time. 'Double uh oh' she should have been up almost forty minutes ago.

“I’m going to be late!” The teenager shrieked throwing the bed covers off and grabbing her right leg. No time to lay around she was going to have to run if she wanted to make it to school on time.

* * *

“You okay?” Usagi looked up to see her longtime friend Naru giving her a concerned look. It was lunchtime things were finally beginning to settle down somewhat after a chaotic morning of rushing to school, tripping over a cat, and being scolded by Ms. Haruna about her latest test result. Honestly, it wasn’t like the girl wasn’t trying. She just had issues that didn’t seem like they were going to be resolved anytime soon.

“Oh, I’m just fine between getting to school late and that stupid test we got back.” Usagi replied. The blonde had never been one to use sarcasm, but today wasn't a good day, so she let it slip just this once. The only good thing was that Yuki was still giving her distance after the incident back in December. She wasn't sure what had changed so much that made her finally back off. But if it meant Yuki's reign might finally be over, she could care less.

Naru winced in sympathy taking a seat at the empty desk across from her. Out of everyone at the school the redhead knew and understood the education issues possibly the best. “That bad?”

She took Usagi's silence to be a yes deciding to switch topics she asked. "What about your head? How's that doing?"

"Better today at least. That's the only thing going right apparently." Usagi said after a moment rubbing her head lightly. They had told her it would take a while for it to heal completely. But it was annoying and tiresome just how long it was taking in her opinion. 

"That's good. They did say it could take up to a couple of months for all the symptoms to stop." Naru reminded her.

"I know its just hard because school was difficult before I got stuck with the side effects of a concussion. Now I am stuck with that on top of everything else." Usagi muttered. This wouldn't have happened at all if the school had done its job and punished the ones responsible before it had escalated to the incident that had happened before the winter break. Usagi sighed running a hand through her bangs exasperated with the subject and all things contingent with the current subject before deciding to change the topic away from horrible school-related matters rather than actually answer the question. "Anything new with you?"

“Well… Mom’s been acting a bit odd the last couple of days.” Naru confessed accepting the shift in topics as a sign that school wasn’t an area to broach today.

“Odd how?” Usagi asked frowning. Naru and her had spent most of their early childhood growing up together until Naru’s family had moved to Tokyo about four years ago. While Naru’s parents could be classified as working parents running a jewelry shop and Usagi hadn’t had a chance to really know them on a personable level because of the hours they kept Usagi thought that she knew what her friend’s mother normally behaved like.

“Mom decided to have a major jewelry sale out of the blue. I can’t recall one single sale since she took the shop herself after Dad died. I wonder if she's going through a mid-life crisis or something ya know?” Naru responded frowning slightly. Like Usagi, she had originally hailed from further up Honshu but her family had decided to move down a few years before the quake hoping to do better in the jewelry market in Tokyo and its surrounding suburbs.

“Maybe she is just trying to save money for something special.” She suggested trying to relieve her friend of her worries. It did seem odd but hey maybe her Mom was trying to surprise Naru with something?

“Maybe, not sure what though.” Naru said tapping her shoe slightly. Something about this just felt  _off_. 

“Have you actually tried asking her about the sale?” Usagi asked.

“Between school and her work I haven’t had time to ask... yet anyways.” Naru confessed.

“Well maybe just ask her then. What's the worst that could happen?” She suggested with a slight shrug.

“Could be nothing I guess...” Naru trailed off.

“It's not like you to worry so much Naru. I'll come with you after school if you want, and maybe we can both figure this out together.” Usagi suggested with a wink.

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Naru gave her a relieved smile.

“Hey what are friends for?” Usagi said.

* * *

"Are you sure you’re okay Usagi? I appreciate the support but if the crowd’s too much...” Naru began. She had managed to escape detention today with a warning from their teacher about not being late again. So as soon as the classroom was clean, they had made a beeline for Naru’s family shop, but the crowd was proving to be a bit much. The normally quiet shop was buzzing with activity that she wasn’t used to seeing. The crowd in the shop was a bit much for her. However, she had made a promise to her friend.

“No. I’m fine. It was a bit much when we first walked in, but I think I’m okay now.” Usagi hadn’t been very fond of cramped spaces since the quake. But she would put up with it for Naru, “So do you see your Mom?”

“Can’t see her yet, but I think I hear her.” Naru commented as they stepped into the shop.

“Well, then when all else fails just follow the voice.” She suggested giving her a friend a light shove in the direction of the loudest of the shouting. She couldn’t see her either, but like Naru, she could make her out... barely over the other noise.

It took some pushing and shoving but they eventually made it to the counter where Naru’s Mom was trying to make sense of the chaos. Naru attempted to strike up a conversation with her Mom over the noise, but it was difficult to tell if anything was actually being heard. It looked like something was being said in response since even though she was having a hard time hearing what either was saying she could see lips moving. This went on for a couple of minutes with her standing there until something weird happened.

One second Naru’s Mom seemed to flicker and be replaced by what could be best described as some odd monster. Blue hair that reached for the sky contrasted a dark complexion and a long face. Usagi blinked and blinked again harder. Afterwards, Naru's mom was back again as if nothing had happened. Rubbing her eyes slightly she wondered. ‘Maybe I'm was just so tired from the late nights up studying for end of semester tests that I'm was starting to see things?’

“Usagi? You okay?” Naru asked. Looks like she missed a piece of the conversation. Not that Usagi would have been able to hear them.

“I’m fine. I think I’m just tired from the last couple of days... and the noise is just getting to be a bit too much I think.” Usagi said. 'What was that?!'

“Ah yeah I think it’s getting worse now that more people are getting off work.” Naru made a face. “See ya tomorrow at school?”

“See you tomorrow." Usagi said giving her friend a tight smile before heading to the shop’s doors. Maybe she just needed a good nap. It appeared the stress was getting to her.

* * *

Usagi didn’t head straight home from Naru’s place... even though she knew she should. She wasn’t quite ready to deal with another long talk with her parents about school. So instead she decided to blow off some steam at the local arcade her and Naru sometimes frequented before meandering home.

That got sidelined when Usagi ran into a guy upon leaving the arcade. Technically it was her fault that the argument had even started. So frustrated with the last test she failed to check behind her in her preoccupation as she balled up her test and tossed it over her shoulder. It just so happened to end up hitting someone in the back of the head. Usagi just couldn't seem to catch a break today it would seem.

“Watch where you toss things Odango Otama,” Came the new voice.

“Don’t call me that.” Usagi snarled whirring around to face the voice. She hadn’t been called that in years! Not since Shingo’s death. She knew it was silly, but she disliked when anyone else used that nickname.

“Well, I wouldn’t be even talking to you if you hadn’t tossed this abysmal test at me.” He said hoisting the slightly wrinkled paper up in front of him with disdain.

“It wasn’t like I was purposely aiming to hit you.” Usagi argued snatching the paper from his hand angrily.

You shouldn't be throwing paper around anyway. Don't you know there are trash cans around odango atama..." He pointed out condescendingly.

“Yeah well, you’re a jerk,” That earned her an eye roll. It wasn’t the best come back but Usagi wasn’t in the best of moods and unfortunately, he was bearing the brunt. She knew it wasn’t his fault. He was catching her at the end of a long day and she was tired.

“Fine whatever. Catch you later Odango Otama." He said turning and heading in the opposite direction.

“Don’t call me that!” Usagi yelled after him.

‘Huh, he looks like the guy I’ve seen a few time in some of my dreams. Kind of weird...’ She thought watching as he turned the corner and disappeared. Usagi had been having dreams of a white palace since the earthquake but hadn’t been able to make much sense of them. For the most part, there hadn’t been many people. Voices? Yes. Actual people? No. Regardless, a guy in the suit of armor stuck out among other things.

This was the first time. However, Usagi had run into anyone that resembled anything in her dreams or in those occasional flashes she got when she let her mind wander into la la land. She let out a sigh turning back in the direction of the way that would take her home.

* * *

Usagi had purposely taken the long way home from the arcade. She wasn’t looking forward to yet another conversation about her grades as it was. The teenager decided the delay tactic was the best option available. She still got an earful from her Mom when she walked through the front door. Apparently, her mother had bumped into one of her classmates at the market and had found out they had got the tests back so that the teenager could delay it no longer.

“I did try to talk to them after school. I’ve been in their office at least twice a week since we got back from the break if not more but they aren't very helpful. Even if I got in the special program, I don't know if it would help me. I feel like I am just too far behind." The blond said clearly discouraged on the matter.

Her mother let out a sigh running a hand through her own curls before saying. “We’ll figure something out. If not for this year than for the next. I do want to see you go to high school, but they are making this whole process unnecessarily difficult.”

“It would help if we could find a good psychiatrist.” Usagi muttered. Or if she could somehow get accepted into that one program at Mugen Gaken. But considering how long the wait list was she would probably be well into high school before any hope of that happened. So, doctors, it was. It just was hard since so far the ones Usagi had been trying to see had rubbed her the wrong way for some reason. She knew if they could get everything documented that school would become a lot less of an issue. Usagi just hadn’t found one she tolerated long enough to actually get the documentation.

“We’ll find someone.” Her mother assured her. That was easy for her to say. Usagi swore she had seen more doctors than there were days in a month since the earthquake. At this point, despite her efforts to the contrary, Usagi was starting to become resigned that she wasn’t going to ever find a good fit.

“Where in the world did that cat come from?” her mother asked changing the topic. Turning the blonde saw a black cat had apparently followed her into the apartment but they had been so caught up in the discussion about school work they had missed her entirely.

“Huh. It’s that cat from this morning!” Usagi realized with surprise realizing where she had seen the black cat before. She didn’t think she had seen any cats with that mark outside of her dreams.

“How did you find her?” Her Mom frowned looking back at her.

“Find her may not be the best way to describe it. I tripped over her in my rush to make it to school on time. I didn’t even realize she had followed me home until you said something.” Usagi confessed picking the cat up to take a closer look before turning to face her Mom.

Her mother sighed before beginning, “You know that the apartment complex doesn’t really allow for pets. You’re going to have to go make sure she goes and gets outside of the building.”

Usagi knew her Mom was right and they really couldn’t be keeping pets right now but… “Can’t she just stay for tonight? I’ll take her out first thing in the morning when I leave for class!”

Her mother sighed again getting that fond exasperated look before saying, “All right just for one night... but I better see her leaving with you as you head to class tomorrow.”

“I will make sure. You won’t regret it!” The girl said grinning huge. It was only one for the night but hey she got to have a pet again!

* * *

After grabbing a snack from the kitchen tossing her bag on the floor and flopping against the bed. Usagi would start homework shortly she just wasn’t in the mood right now as she let her thoughts drift off for a bit.

That didn’t last long as Usagi was brought out of her thought by the sound someone clearing their throat. She frowned looked over at the door but Mom was still somewhere else in the apartment. So where had that noise come from? The only other living being in the room was that cat who had come in behind her. And cats certainly couldn’t talk last she had checked (Well there was the one from her dream, but a dream was just that).

Then there it was again much more loudly and clearly, this time frowning she scanned the room until she came face to face with the cat, who upon realizing that they had finally gotten her attention opened its mouth, and much to her shock actually began to speak. “Hello, Usagi my name is Luna. I have been searching for a very long time for you.”

Usagi actually fell off her bed in shock landing on her back. Today just couldn’t get any more crazy for her, could it?

“Ow...” she muttered rubbing her backside as she sat up the cat, Luna, she thought it had called itself, looking at her with a look of concern before it could speak again Usagi started. “Don’t. I am already having a hard time with this whole talking cat thing.”

“I am actually Mauan, not a Terran cat.” Luna slowly corrected.

“Right...” Usagi wasn’t exactly sure she wanted to know what a Mauan was at the moment.

Usagi just stared at Luna as she. It. Well, the teenager wasn’t sure what pronoun was the correct one to use so for now 'she' would have to do. Luna continued to blather on. This. This had to be a dream. A really strange dream brought on by the stress of school. That was the only logical explanation for this situation. Cats did not start talking out of the blue. Usagi knows it had claimed to be Mauan, whatever that was, so that might be why but still this whole thing was too weird not to be a dream. She pinched her arm. Ouch! Okay, apparently not a dream then.

“You are Sailor Moon sworn to protect this system from any invaders that try to threaten the planet’s peace.” Luna explained to her as she finally got over the whole situation enough for her to actually register what Luna was saying. Apparently, she had missed a good chunk of something. Maybe it was time to move past the thing where she was a talking cat for some reason and move on to the fact that Usagi was being asked to protect a planet.

“Luna... Earth isn’t exactly known for being peaceful.” The girl pointed out slowly. It wasn’t so much that she was expected to fight off some bad guys, despite the fact she wasn’t sure if she was the best for that kind of job, kind of sounded interesting. It was more that this planet and peace really didn’t describe Earth at the moment. Maybe whatever fantastical time Luna had come from, but not now.

“Compared to some places it is. Trust me on this one. Earth needs protection from possible invasion from alien forces. I’ll fill you in more on why you need to take this role as we go, but for now, I need you to become Sailor Moon!” Luna insisted.

“You need to explain why it’s so important to me Luna. I’ve had a lot happen to me in the past two years. I'm not just going to agree without knowing at least something about what I'm getting myself into.” Usagi argued back. Protecting Earth from outside aliens she could understand the importance of, but why her? The girl didn’t get that part so much, and Usagi wasn’t about to go rushing headlong into this no matter what Luna apparently wanted.

Luna hesitated for the briefest period seeming to mull over her options. Then with some hesitation obvious in her voice, she began. “There’s a woman, though I’m not entirely sure how human she is anymore, who wants to rule the Earth by force. You and your Senshi companions are the only thing that is truly standing in her way of getting what she needs.”

“But why me specifically? Why not the girl five doors down the hall?” Usagi asked jerking her thumb back towards the front entrance. Okay, maybe not the best example since that girl was younger than her but she was trying to make a point.

Which Luna seemed to understand as she answered. “Not everyone in the world can be a Sailor Senshi. I have been awake in Tokyo for many months now and you are the first one I’ve managed to find. It could take me years to find another viable candidate to be Sailor Moon and I do not know if there is even another one out there. By the time I might find one it might already be too late.”

“So I’m your one hope is what you’re saying.” Usagi asked making a face. She still wasn’t sure if she liked this but if she really was Luna’s only choice…

“Well, not the only one. If you take up the mantle of Sailor Moon, you will belong to a team of very powerful girls your age who will help you in your quest to bring down Queen Beryl. As Sailor Moon, you are inherently one of the most powerful among the Sol Senshi, so your presence in this battle is a much-needed necessity.” Luna responded naming their enemy for the first time.

“How do we even know she is even trying to actively take over the Earth? I haven’t exactly seen something that screams alien forces to me.” Usagi said. Well, there was that incident at Naru’s shop but she still wasn’t convinced her tired brain hadn't imagined that.

“That’s because they are choosing to take the subtle route in overtaking the Earth. They’ve always been good at blending into the background when they please even in the old Kingdom days. Usagi! Please! I already spotted a youma earlier today. I know you want to understand more about your role, but please this isn’t the best time! I truly need your help!” Luna pleaded.

“Youma?” The blonde asked hand going towards the broach that Luna had presented her with during the conversation.

“They are low-level minions that work for Queen Beryl. They do miscellaneous jobs but this one’s job, in particular, is to gather energy to help make the Dark Kingdom stronger.” Luna explained.

Usagi took a deep breath closed her eyes for a second and opened them again herself staring at Luna. She really didn’t understand why the cat needed her help in particular but if Luna was insistent, “Fine on one, no actually wait two, conditions.”

Luna looked so relieved, “Name it.”

“After this event is done tonight we need to tell my parents. Two, I tell my teammates on my terms about my ‘conditions’ not on yours.” Usagi insisted.

Luna hesitated there. “Technically for their protection were not supposed to tell anyone your secret identity.”

“Luna I’m clumsy by nature and I have to walk around with these...” Usagi motioned at the prosthetics. “Most of the day. There is no way I will be able to get out of the house every time one of Beryl’s minions shows up unless my parents know what I am doing exactly. I am already going to have a hell of a time convincing my mother I need to go out tonight as is.” The girl argued.

Luna sighed, “All right. I won’t say I like it, but I do see your point on the matter.”

“And me telling my new teammates about my issues?” The blonde didn’t think Luna would protest but she wanted to check.

“I would prefer you tell them sooner but if you wish to wait a bit, I won’t tell them.” Luna said.

“Alright, I guess I’m on board then. I won’t say I like this whole thing entirely. But I’ll do it.” Usagi finally agreed.

“Thank you, Usagi.” Luna said with a sigh of relief.

“So what’s the transformation phrase again?” Usagi asked picking up the broach. She thought she had vaguely remembered Luna mentioning it before but in all the chaos she had forgotten it. A deal was a deal. Usagi still wasn’t sure how she felt about the whole fighting evil thing but Luna seemed convinced that she was the right person for the job... Even if Usagi, personally, wasn’t sure she was.

Luna actually smiled then. “Moon Prism Power! Make Up!”

“Well all right then. Let’s do this.” Usagi hoisted the broach high above her head repeating after Luna. “Moon Prism Power! Make Up!”

* * *

Usagi and Luna almost made it out of the apartment without incident. Almost. Her Mom had caught her right when after she had passed the living room.

 “Usagi what is that outfit your wearing?” Her Mom said frowning slightly coming into the hallway to get a better look. Well, that was technically the smallest detail but it was a place to start. Usagi had stopped liking skirts after the quake especially short ones. She put up with her school uniform because it was just that, her school uniform, but other than that she almost never wore skirts nowadays. Yet here she was walking around in what was definitely not a full-length skirt by any stretch of the imagination.

 “Your daughter is Sailor Moon, One of a group of girls who are destined to fight the evil that is currently threatening our world.” Luna explained coming up to her Mom to try and explain what was going on.

 “The cat talks-!” Her mother said faintly. Apparently, she was handling it about as well as Usagi had at first.

 “Why is that the thing everyone gets caught up on?” Luna grumbled a bit.

 “Luna, you’re going to have to learn to accept that most people are going to have this reaction when you first open your mouth. Talking animals aren’t normal.” Usagi reminded the cat. She was starting to wonder just how much Luna had interacted with people before meeting her because it didn’t sound like a lot.

 “Moments like this make me miss the days of the Silver Alliance...” she heard Luna mutter under her breath.

 “The what?” Usagi asked raising an eyebrow. While most of the earlier conversation was a blur, she didn’t remember Luna saying anything about the Silver Alliance.

 “A story for another time.” Luna said shaking her head.

 “Why my daughter though? Why out of every single person on Earth must she be the one that fight’s this evil? We’ve been through enough as is.” Usagi's Mom asked deciding to focus on the one thing she could understand at the moment- not the talking cat. The fact her daughter was being asked, not even asked it even seemed to her, to fight some evil was distressing enough without trying to wrap her mind around the talking cat.

 “Apparently, I’m the only one for the job.” Usagi answered giving a tight smile cutting in before Luna could say anything else. She knew that if Luna started spewing that destiny thing again, it wouldn’t go over well with her parents. Luna maybe convinced it was her destiny but she still wasn’t a hundred percent sure about the whole matter. And she doubted her Mom would buy the whole destiny crap.

 “She won’t be fighting alone. There are other girls who are meant to work with her and help protect her.” Luna said stepping in for the first time. Wisely deciding not to mention that none of those girls would be with her tonight. She had a feeling that if she did there would be no getting Usagi out of this apartment and to fighting the youma.

 “Even so I still don’t like this.” Her Mother said shaking her head. All she and Kenji had left was Usagi. She couldn’t imagine her being in danger fighting these creatures.

 “Mama. Naru’s the one in danger. I can’t just leave her.” Usagi said. She wasn’t hundred percent certain that Luna was taking her to Osa-P but she doubted it was a coincidence that Luna had shown up today after what she had seen that afternoon. She understood partly what her mother was feeling but she couldn’t just leave Naru alone to be hurt by these youmas if that was indeed where they were headed.

 “Fine go. But be careful and we are going to have a long talk about this when you get home.” Usagi's mother assented with the look on her face clearly saying the discussion wasn't over nor was she about to give up on this issue. She didn’t like it but if she knew her daughter, then she was pretty certain that even if she tried to keep her in Usagi would find a way out. Her and Naru were too close not to and she was worried if Usagi wasn’t allowed out and Naru was hurt somehow Usagi would have even more guilt.

 “Thank you, Mama. I’ll be back soon!” Usagi called before slipping out of the apartment. “That could have gone worse.” Usagi said more to herself than to Luna. She was glad she hadn’t run into her Dad on the way out. They might not have gotten out at all if that was the case.

 “Really?” Luna said skeptically looking back at the apartment. That had not been the definition of a good conversation by her standards.

 “You don’t get it quite yet. We lost my little brother two years ago since I’m the only child left they have gotten more protective of me since then. Honestly, the only reason I think we got out was because the full implications of what you were saying haven’t sunk in yet.” Usagi said shaking her head. She honestly was surprised they had been able to make their case to get out. She wondered if it was partly because they were in shock. She had a feeling that the next time around was going to be more difficult.

 “My condolences.” Luna offered after a moment.

 “Sometimes I half expect him to walk through the front door like nothing happened.” Usagi confessed. She knew it wasn’t possible. Shingo was dead. There was little doubt about that. But some days she just wanted to forget that.

* * *

Usagi was more than a bit surprised when Luna lead her to Naru’s family shop. Of all the places she had been expecting, this was not it, but it did kind of make sense. She had seen that weird thing earlier that day when she had come here after school.

“Moon?” Luna said looking up at her.

“Oh sorry just thinking about something from earlier.” Sailor Moon confessed.

“About something we discussed or something else?” Luna asked.

“Something else. This is my friend’s family shop. I came by earlier because she was worried about her Mom and wanted some moral support while she talked to her. When I was there, I saw something that was just plain weird.” The girl confessed.

Luna frowned slightly but chose not to push it for now. This would be a topic to go over later when they didn’t have an imminent youma attack to deal with.

“Huh. so that’s what I saw earlier at the shop.” Sailor Moon muttered more to herself than to Luna. She thought she was still partly in shock over the whole situation. How did a monster replace her best friend’s mother?

Luna frowned looking up at her. “You saw her earlier today?” 

“As I said before my friends family runs the shop. When I was there, I saw this” Usagi made a motion at the creature. “for a brief second instead of her mother. Didn’t have a clue what it was. Thought I imagined things honestly because of exhaustion and stress from school.”

Luna frowned glancing over at the creature before looking back at her, “That is odd, to say the least.” That was unexpected, to put it mildly. Lunarians usually didn't have much in the way of seeing through illusions. But maybe Usagi was an exception. She wasn't going to complain though they needed all the little help they could get. 

“What do you mean?” she frowned.

Luna paused before shaking her head, “Not now we will address the matter later. For now, we need to do the proper introduction speech.”

“I’m not doing an intro speech.” The teenager said as they moved to reveal themselves.

“Sailor Moon-” Luna began in protest again.

“I’m not. I don’t get the point of introductory speeches. They seem to waste time and make me a target.” she argued back. They had been squabbling over this topic the entire way over from the moment Luna had brought it up on the journey over. Maybe it was something she was missing but as of right now she really didn’t understand Luna’s insistence on this subject.

“They are tradition, and in some cases a good way to distract the target. Do it at least once and I won’t get on your case about them again.” Luna promised. Would she have preferred Usagi did them? Yes. Was it really that much of a pressing matter? No.

“Fine. Just this once.” Sailor Moon agreed realizing that this was one argument she was never going to win. “Hey creepy face! Let go of my friend!”

She could hear Luna muttering something in the background but chose to ignore the cat for now especially since said cat had called her by name a few minutes ago as the youma swiveled to look at her. Okay, that made it infinitely more creepy. Taking a deep breath and a good swallow for measure the skirted hero took the chance and went over the orchestrated speech, “For Love and Justice I am the pretty sailor suited soldier! Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!”

“So what do I do now?” she asked Luna continuing to stare at the strange monster creature in front of her. Sailor Moon really hoped that thing wasn’t human... or had been human. It really hadn’t reacted to her speech other than dropping Naru so Luna may have a case then.

Before she could get a proper answer out of Luna, the creature made a hand-wavy motion at the unconscious people scattered about. What were they still doing there at this time of the night anyway? Naru’s family shop didn’t stay open that late normally. All of sudden they were getting up on their feet. Okay, this youma thing was getting creepier by the minute. Before she had time to process what was fully going on, she found herself being chased around by a bunch of youma controlled people. This was going to be a long night.

“Oh no!” Sailor Moon said running away from the…well she wasn’t exactly sure what they were. Other then they seemed to be under some weird spell thanks to whatever it was she was exactly fighting.

“Sailor Moon! You need to turn around and fight the youma!” Came Luna’s ever so helpful comment as she ran in the opposite direction from said youma and youma controlled people.

“Easy for you to say!” The blonde yelled back over her shoulder. Seriously she was putting enough effort keeping herself in front of these people forget fighting the thing that Luna kept calling a youma.

Luna was about to fire back a comment back when a rose, really, sliced through the air distracting the youma and breaking the spell judging by the fact everyone suddenly fell down. Well, credit for good aim there.

“That was ridiculously good timing.” She said to herself. The teenager didn’t have a clue how that had worked other than apparently his distraction had broken the youma’s spell leaving it wide open for attack.

“Sailor Moon you need to defeat the youma!” Luna said coming out from behind her hiding place as she could vaguely hear the youma being lectured by whoever threw the rose. Or maybe the guy was lecturing her. She wasn’t sure which at this point and wasn’t paying close attention. There were more important matters at hand, like getting rid of creepy face.

“How?” As it was Luna hadn’t been the most forthcoming about what was needed to accomplish the task they had set out to do.

“Your tiara is your weapon against the enemy. You need to remove it, aim it in the direction of the youma, and throw it while using the right command words!” Luna explained.

“Luna I don’t know the first thing about throwing objects!” Sailor Moon pointed out to the cat. Yep definitely going to be a long night- especially since she wasn’t sure if whoever threw the rose in the first place had actually stuck around.

“The tiara acts like a boomerang of sorts. So even if you miss on the first throw, it will return to you. You just need to get a hit in. Don’t worry so much about the aiming right now. We can get that down later.” Luna assured her. As Sailor Moon reached up for her tiara, Luna spoke, “The command you need is 'Moon Tiara Magic'.”

She removed it, tried her best at aiming and tossed the tiara with the command. “Moon Tiara Magic!”

The youma managed to dodge it on the way out but as it swung back around to return to her, it actually hit. Quickly turning whatever it was into a pile of dust.

“Good job Sailor Moon!” Luna commended coming to her side.

“It seems kind of short range.” The girl noted as the tiara returned to her and she put it back on her forehead. It hadn’t strayed that far before it had begun to swing back towards her. Really of all the attacking methods, this had been the last thing she had been expecting. It was effective at least. She wasn’t really ready to address the fact of what she had done to the youma at the moment.

“Well you will have more attacks that are longer range then your tiara, eventually, but that will take time and training to use to them properly. You’ll rely on your teammates to do more long-range damage in the meantime.” Luna said slowly. Usagi was going to guess that there were consequences for trying to reach a power you weren’t ready to handle too soon.

“So uh, what now?” she asked glancing around. The victims of creepy face were still unconscious but who knows how much longer that would be?

Any response from Luna was cut off by a new voice, “Usagi is that you?”

Crap Naru had woken up and apparently recognized her. Despite Luna’s repeated assurances that she wouldn’t be able to recognize her. Time to try and fake her way out of it. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Usagi we’ve known each other since we are in kindergarten. You’re my best friend but you’re a horrible liar.” Naru said sitting up looking clearly amused.

“Uh well...” she could hear Luna sigh next to her. What could she do? Naru had seen her and she was right. Lying had never been her strong suit.

“Sailor Moon that’s not the way to respond to someone unmasking you.” Luna hissed.

“Unless you have some magical memory wiping device I don’t see how we can get out of this situation.” Sailor Moon argued back.

“I can still hear you ya know,” Naru commented sounding slightly amused.

“That device would be useful right about now.” Luna commented.

She shook her head turning back to Naru who had fallen quiet. “So what happened?”

“She followed me home,” Usagi jerked her hand at Luna, “And told me its now my apparent sworn duty to fight youmas and save the world.”

“I am supposed to act as an adviser for the senshi.” Luna explained.

“Well, an adviser excuse isn’t going to exactly fly with your apartment buildings owner. What are you going to do about that?” Naru asked frowning.

“Yeah still have to figure out what to do. Mom let her stay for now because it was just for a night.” she commented frowning her mind starting to shift to a possible solution.

“I am technically supposed to be with Usagi at all times.” Luna protested.

“Luna. You really don’t have a say in the matter. My apartment doesn’t allow for pets. Plus it’s not like you can come to school with me.” She argued. She turned back to Naru, “Do you think you can come up with something, so your mom will let you keep her?”

“It shouldn’t be too hard.” Naru agreed.

“I still don’t like this.” Luna commented her tail swishing slightly in agitation but seeming to finally cave and walk over to where Naru was.

“Luna, I am over at Naru’s on a frequent basis. Just because your living with her doesn’t mean you won’t see me. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon first thing,” Usagi tried to assure the cat. She turned back to address Naru. “I should probably get home before it gets too much later or more people wake up. Do you think you’ll be all right now that the youma’s gone?”

“I should be. And yeah better get out of here before people jump to the wrong conclusions.” Naru agreed.

“See ya at school.” she waved at her friend before taking off towards the back exit of the shop.

* * *

Usagi was initially surprised to find her Mom still up when she got back to the apartment, though it made sense. She had told her she was going off to fight some evil. She knew if the situation was in reverse she would have been worried. "Thank god your safe." Her Mom said pulling her into a hug as soon as she was close enough. Pulling back to get a full look at her. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine Mom." Usagi reassured her. "Does Dad know?" Usagi asked after a moment. The what he knew being left out since it seemed fairly obvious. Had her Mom told her Dad that she had been apparently recruited to fight evil?

"No. I didn't think that was a conversation to have minus you and that  _cat_." Her Mom tripped over cat for a moment. Apparently still having a hard time that this whole thing had gotten started because of what appeared to just be a cat. "Where is she anyway?"

"Luna's staying at Naru's for the moment. Naru offered to take her in for the meantime. Luna wasn't overly happy about it." Usagi said making a face going back to the previous argument they had had at Osa-P. Luna really hadn't been happy about the new situation when she thought about it.

"We still need to have a conversation with her. In private." Her Mom said after a moment. Guess they were going to have to figure a way to sneak the cat back in. They had done it once before it shouldn't be too difficult to do it a second time hopefully. As good friends as the Osakas were this was not a conversation to be having at a close friends house. "I still don't understand why you have to be the one that does this." Her Mom muttered to herself.

"Luna made it sound like this is my role and no one else can do it." Usagi confessed paraphrasing some of the conversation they had had. Still dancing around the fact that Luna had called it her destiny at one point.

"But she was also saying you would have teammates! Wouldn't they be able to do the job?" Her Mom asked before continuing. "Don't answer that; it was a rhetorical question. I understand that the whole part of being a team means you work with others. You can't just push off your assumed responsibilities." Her Mom let out a sigh. "I just don't like the idea of you in danger." Her Mom said after a moment. Usagi was all her and Kenji had left at this point. The idea of her constantly being in danger was unsettling.

"It's not forever Mom. It's just until we take care of this Dark Kingdom trouble that Luna was mentioning. Eventually, I'll be able to go back to a normal life." Usagi tried to assure her. Or at least that's what she assumed. Honestly, Luna hadn't once brought up what would happen after she beat this Dark Kingdom.

"I get it, I don't like it, but I get it to an extent. You're needed for some reason. Your father may stop you." her Mom pointed out. Kenji was even more protective of Usagi then she was. This was going to be a difficult long conversation to have. She had partly given in because she knew after everything else there was no way to convince Usagi of not helping others. Kenji, on the other hand, would probably take a lot more to get through on the matter.

Usagi quietly admitted to herself that she wished her father luck stopping this but she didn't have high hopes, not with how it sounded with Luna. It didn't sound like this was negotiable. She understood from the short conversation they had had so far she was needed. She might not understand why she herself specifically was needed but hopefully in time she would.

End Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that’s the new chapter one. -grins nervously- I hope it was worth the wait for everyone.


	2. Cursed History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone welcome to chapter 2 of Path’s Divergence. This is the last upload of the weird schedule. Chapter 3 will be the first one that’s on an every other week schedule. 
> 
> Nice to see a lot of familiar names on the alerts list. Glad so many of you stuck around and came back for the rewrite. Always appreciate the reviews.
> 
> Not much to say at the moment. Thanks to Tsukikageshi for taking over as my beta after my old beta from version one had to quit for their own reasons. 
> 
> On with the show!

Chapter 2  
Cursed History

Usagi plopped her bag down in her usual spot in Naru’s room a couple of days after the jewelry shop incident. Things had been a bit crazy in the aftermath of the youma attack so they hadn’t been able to get together and do a much-needed talk yet. Today was finally the day she was going to get some much-needed answers from Luna. She turned to the cat that was currently lounging on the bed as Naru closed the door. “All right Luna you promised a more in depth explanation of everything when I signed up for Sailor Senshi duty. Time to fulfill your end of the bargain.”

“I honestly still have quiet a few holes in my memories. To be honest it might not be possible to answer everything at this point and time.” Luna confessed after a moment.

She waved her hand dismissing the concern. “That’s fine I’ll just take what we can get at the moment.”

Luna let out a breath before starting. “A long time ago all the planets were inhabited not just Earth.”

“Wait, wait, wait, what?” Naru said voicing the confusion they both had. “Your saying extra terrestrial life did exist in our solar system at one point and time and nobody knows about it?”

“I believe the old Earth saying ‘History is written by the victors’ is applicable here.” Luna responded.

“Well if that isn’t a scary thought I don’t know what it is.” Usagi commented to Naru.

“If you don't stop interrupting we are never going to get through this. It's quite a long story and it's not very easy to remember what I do.” Luna cut in before Naru could respond.

“Yes Maam.” they chorused.

“Thank you.” -Luna said- “As I was saying before we got sidetracked. There was a time long ago where all the planets were inhabited. Most of the planets made up an Alliance that was commonly referred to as the Silver Alliance. A sort of shared governmental body with the Moon at the center of it all.”

“Sounds a bit like an ancient European Union.” Naru commented from her opinion.

“From what little I know about the European Union it would be a slightly fair comparison.” Luna agreed.

“I was gettting to that have some patience.”-Luna shook her head-“While most of the major planets were members of the Silver Alliance there was an exception. Earth.”

“Wait why? I get we aren’t the center of the universe especially back in that time but it seems like an odd choice.” Naru said frowning.

“Earth was...” Luna paused again frowning there.

After it passed for a couple of minutes Naru spoke. “You can’t remember exactly why Earth wasn’t part of the Silver Alliance can you?”

“No. I know things were in motion for them to join the Alliance before the Alliance’s destruction at the hands of Queen Beryl and her minions. But I don’t know why it wasn’t a preexisting member at the time like the other planets,” Luna admitted.

“Seems kind of odd...” -Usagi frowned slightly- “You really don’t know why?”

“No I don’t know or rather I can’t remember at this point Usagi. I just know it wasn’t.” Luna said her tone taking an exasperated sound again.

“But you can remember that Earth was about to join before the fall?” Naru asked apparently also a bit skeptical. She knew Luna’s memory was sketchy but this seemed to be her picking and choosing what she wanted to tell more then accurantly remembering honestly.

“Because it was tied to the fall of the Alliance.” Luna said exasperatedly.

“Oh.” was Usagi’s oh so brilliant response. That would explain it some. She frowned for a moment glancing at Naru noticing the other girl seemed to be mulling over the answer they had been given. However her attention was drawn back to Naru and she made a note to ask Naru what she was thinking later.

Luna let out a breath before speaking. “You see, due to various reasons there had always been a tension between Earth and members of the Silver Alliance but before the fall it was at an all time high. At the time of the fall though, despite some protests within some members of the alliance that Earth wasn't ready to join the Alliance, plans were in motion for Earth to join in hopes of easing that tension between the alliance and earth. So the Queen of the Moon had arranged to have her daughter marry the Prince of Earth. In hopes of helping calming fears on both sides of the conflicts and further ease tensions.”

“A political marriage.” Usagi interrupted making a face. She may or may not be the Moon Princess herself but it didn’t mean she liked the idea.

“It was very common in those days. A way of attempting to ensure political stability on both sides of the aisle. It also helped that both sides appeared in love, not common in political matches, but not unheard of. What better way to help bring in Earth to the Silver Alliance then a marriage between the Alliance’s future Queen and Earth's future King?” Luna explained.

“Okay I kind of get it. I may not exactly like it. But I get it though I don’t understand why the Queen of the Moon chose her own daughter.” Usagi admitted.

“The Moon was the center of it all, and at the head of it all was the Lunarian Royal Family. The Queen was in charge of not only the Moon Kingdom itself but overseeing the Silver Alliance and insuring it’s stability. The Princess and her other relatives would sometimes oversee other minor tasks as a method of training them for whatever future role they were to eventually partake in. By choosing her own daughter she was picking technically the person who would have been considered one of the most powerful in the Alliance even if she hadn’t come into her inheritance yet,” Luna explained.

“So what does that have to do with me or this Beryl lady?” Usagi asked turning to the cat with a frown. Naru apparently had fallen silent more interested in listening to the back and forth. She knew the cat had said multiple times she was a member of the Lunarian Royal Family but she still couldn’t quiet grasp what that meant in her role as Sailor Moon.

“As I said before you almost certainly weren’t the princess back in your time. To protect those in line to the throne when a Sailor Moon was needed someone close enough in lineage would be called. However that didn’t mean you weren’t well respected as a member of the Royal Court.” Luna explained. Usagi frowned for a second. That didn’t quiet add up with some of her memories but that might be something possibly best to bring up for later.

“So in terms of being Sailor Moon in battle what am I supposed to do other than fight these weird looking things,” she asked choosing to bypass the whole confusing heritage thing. Something to argue with Luna over another day.

“It means that you as the new Sailor Moon are now to expected to take up the central role in leading the Sailor Senshi in and out of battle.” Luna explained slowly.

Usagi froze at that. She really didn’t like the idea of leading anyone, let alone a group of people who she had just met. Supposed to fight evil beside or not. “What do you mean leader?”

“Lunarians are natural born leaders even within the general populace. Combine that with your heritage of being in the Lunar Royal Family and being Sailor Moon, who historically have always lead the Senshi as a united front in battle in the past and your natural status is that of leader.” Luna explained.

“I’m not sure I’m okay with this,” Usagi began slowly. Hopefully Luna wouldn’t freak out too much over this.

“Not okay with what?” Luna questioned tilting her head slightly in confusion.

“I’m not a leader Luna. Never have been. People aren’t just going to fall into line behind me all of a sudden because I took up this mantle.” Usagi said waving her hands in exasperation how much clearer did she have to be? The thought of trying to lead anyone when it seemed like no one would listen to her to begin with just made her want to start to panic.

“But Usagi your a Lunarian you-” Luna began only to be cut off.

“You can’t make me something I’m not!” She said exiting the room closing the door with more force then normal knowing she needed to get away from Luna before she truly did begin to panic. She was going to head to a nearby park and hopefully clear her head a bit and then figure out what to do. She wasn’t really sure what to do with the info that she was the leader of the Sailor Senshi.

* * *

She had made it back to the park her and Naru sometimes visited by the time Naru finally caught back up with her taking a seat on the swing next to her. “You okay?”

“I’m better now.” She said. It was true once she had gotten away from Luna and she had calmed down some. But still leading other people into battle was a fought that terrified her.

“Ya know, not everyone’s going to be like Yuki and her friends.” Naru commented after a slight pause.

“I know that on a mental level but I guess not so much on an emotional level.” She confessed. Plus, it really didn’t help that she didn’t feel she was ‘leader’ material. She all ready had seen some of the responsibility Luna was giving her and she was not looking forward to going through that with more people.

“Usagi you know with the dreams you have been having that most likely your not just a member of the Lunar court.” Naru pointed out. She had heard some of the details from the dream.

“I know that.” Usagi responded.

“Maybe some part of them will remember and respect you for who you used to be back in that past life." Naru pointed out.

“Respect is earned not given. I don’t want them to respect me just for someone who I used to be.” Usagi said shaking her head.

“Is that why you haven’t mentioned to Luna who you might be?” Naru asked.

“Pretty much.” Usagi agreed.

“You haven’t told her yet either have you?” She asked her friend worried after a moment.

“No, I don’t feel its my place to say.” Naru confessed. “Plus, I get the feeling we’re not the only ones holding back information.”

“You think she is lying when she says she has holes in her memories?” Usagi asked frowning.

“Well…maybe not a whole lie. I think she does have holes in her memories but I think she may be lying about how much she doesn’t remember at the moment.” Naru said.

“But why would she do that?” Usagi argued. It sounded kind of silly to withhold information that might be necessary to fight this Queen Beryl.

“Who knows? She’s a quiet literal alien Usagi. Who knows what she thinks?” Naru said shaking her head.

“I should tell her.” She said after a slight pause.

“Yeah you probably should.” Naru agreed. “You don’t want to, do you.” A statement rather than a question as she gave Usagi a knowing look.

“It’s just every time she looks at me it seems like she is expecting someone else, someone more put together. If I am her princess then that’s going to shatter a lot more of whatever connotations she has. I am not sure I’m ready to deal with that kind of possible disappointment Naru.” Usagi explained.

“I think you’re over thinking it. She’ll probably just be happy that she found her princess regardless of who she is.” Naru argued.

“Possibly. Either way I am not ready to tell her or anyone.” Usagi shrugged.

“Yeah the only reason why I know and Luna doesn’t yet is because of the sleepovers.” Naru said.

“We might have to cut back on those.” Usagi realized. If she wanted to keep it from Luna then she was going to have to make some changes.

“Or we could just do sleepovers at your place until she knows.” Naru suggested thoughtfully.

“That would work.” Usagi agreed gratefully.

“So do you want to go back to my place or what?” Naru asked after a lapse in the conversation.

“No, I’m not quite ready to deal with Luna again at the moment. What about the arcade?” She suggested. Really, they should go back and study regardless of Luna’s presence but she wasn’t ready to deal with her quiet yet.

“Sounds like a plan.” Naru agreed getting up from the swingset.

* * *

“Eh your here early.” Was Naru’s greeting the next morning at school as she arrived for once not only on time but with plenty of time to spare.

“Yeah well Luna has been bugging me to get in better shape.” Usagi pointed out.

“And your actually listening.” Naru asked a bit surprised.

“If I am going to do my job I kind of have to.” She pointed out.

Naru shrugged. “That's true.”

“So anything new with you? Any good gossip to report since we last met?” Really she wasn’t in the mood for gossip but she wasn’t in the mood to talk about school either. So she would take the former if her friend had any.

“Nothing really. I did hear some people talking about a new fortune teller’s place that opened a few days ago that everyone has been going to.” Naru tended to pay more attention to the gossip than she did honestly. So it made sense that she would have picked up on a new trend, while her being absorbed and overwhelmed with her brand new ‘duties’ wouldn’t have heard of it.

“Anything noticeably interesting about it?” She asked trying to indirectly ask if Naru had heard anything that might point to a possible youma plot. Luna had hinted that for whatever reason any new shops needed to be treated with suspicion since that was a common youma front.

“Not really.” Naru shook her head there.

“No one’s acting like Luna warned might happen during a youma attack.” Naru commented to herself. Luna had given them both the basic run down of what to look for it they suspected a youma plot. But so far everything had been pretty quiet.

“Still maybe it wouldn’t hurt to swing by after school.” Naru suggested. “Maybe we can get some insight from whoever runs the place if they aren’t part of the Dark Kingdom.”

“That actually sounds kind of good.” she agreed. With so many things changing maybe having a little reassurance in the future wouldn’t hurt.

* * *

“I thought you said you were going to try and start getting to class on time.” Was Naru’s comment as she burst into the classroom the next morning running later than normal. They had swung by the fortune teller’s place after school. But between the long line and no direct connection, to an actual youma plot, they hadn’t really investigated it. Deciding if it was a youma plot it would eventually show itself much like the jewelry shop youma did.

“I am. Things just didn’t go well this morning.” She admitted glancing at the empty teacher’s desk with a frown before taking a seat. Now that she looked around the desk wasn’t the only unoccupied seat in the classroom.

“Well you’re in luck today. Ms Haruna had to take a bunch of the boys to the principal’s office because they were causing trouble and wouldn’t settle down for roll call. I don’t think she even had a chance to realize you weren’t here yet.” Naru explained.

“That’s a relief.” She sunk further into the chair. At least that was one weight off of her back but the behavior thing was a worry. “So what happened?”

“Er some of the boys were talking over Ms. Haruna during roll call. She tried to ignore them for the most part until they started getting too loud to do that. But when she called them out on it the response was to call her some rather lude names. That’s when she took them to the principal’s office.” Naru explained.

“Was Umino among them?” This maybe enough to convince Luna that they need to actually investigate the fortune telling place. Umino was many things, but he wasn’t usually rude from what she could tell.

“How did you know?” Naru blinked a few times in surprise.

“He was at the fortune tellers when Luna and I were scouting it.” She said hoping Naru would put two and two together. Naru had been held back the previous afternoon so it had just been her and Luna at the fortune teller’s.

“Oh, ohhh, that’s not good.” Naru said making a face.

“No, it isn’t.” looked like they were headed back to that building after school.

* * *

“Are you sure about this? I thought you said you didn’t know Umino that well.” Luna questioned that afternoon as they approached the fortune tellers she had picked Luna up from Naru’s and now they were back out in front of the fortune teller’s place.

“No, I definitely don’t, but he just doesn’t seem like the type to pull off the kind of stunt that Naru described this morning.” She argued, “Look at worst, I’ll make a fool of myself. Considering I’m so new at this its bound to happen eventually. Do you really want to risk a youma possibly running around unchecked?”

“You’re willing to be a possible fool in front of strangers and yet your terrified of your possible team mates.” Luna inquired raising an eyebrow.

“Well…maybe for now at least. I would prefer not to later.” Usagi admitted. There was a reasoning behind why she was kind of terrified of her future teammates but she wasn’t ready to discuss that with Luna quiet yet. If the fortune teller lady was just a regular fortune teller then she doubted she would ever see the person again. But with people she was constantly going to have to be working with, that was another story. She had once given her trust more readily to new people, back when they had first moved to Tokyo, now it wasn’t such an easy matter.

“Luna, how are you going to find these other girls anyway?” Usagi asked after a momentary lapse.

“I’ve been on the lookout for them already.” Luna admitted after a moment or so. “I just haven’t been able to find them yet.”

“I hate to ask this... but are you sure they were reborn like I was after the fall of this Moon Kingdom?” she asked. It was a legit question in her mind.

“The Queen knew the possibility of the Dark Kingdom’s seal breaking. She wouldn’t have just sent two of you forward.” Luna said shaking her head slightly.

“Two?” She asked frowning. She wasn’t aware of another girl running around Japan fighting evil. And if there was why wasn’t she all ready working with her?

“You’ve heard of Sailor V correct?” Luna asked stopping to look at her.

“Er yes?” She admitted. The name sounded vaguely familiar but then again she didn’t pay that much attention to the gossip circle being busy with school and now this.

“The V in Sailor V stands for Venus. One of the four Senshi who belong to the Inner Court.” Luna explained.

“Oh.” That explained the two part. “So why am I not working with her?”

“Venus is currently in England for school. It so happens that the Dark Kingdom has a small hive of activity there that she’s in charge of fighting. Pulling her away from that job at that moment would be detrimental to the safety of the people there.” Luna said.

“Oh.” That made a lot of sense.

“So how exactly do we handle this?” She asked as they finally came into view of the fortune teller house.

“Well you go in looking for the fortune teller to be doing something anything odd. If you feel it warrants immediate action you go ahead and transform. Otherwise come out and report to me and we will figure out what to do next.” Luna explained.

“But what prevents me from maybe falling victim to whatever caused Umino and the others to start acting the way they did?” She asked.

“Your broach has a lot of dark magic blockers on it. It should prevent anything the Dark Kingdom can cast from affecting you.” Luna retorted.

“But what if it doesn’t?” It was a legit question. She was brand new to this job and Luna had a bunch of holes in her memory. What if the broach didn’t work the way it was supposed to?

“I better come with you.” Luna realized coming to the same conclusion she was. If the broach didn’t protect her then they would be in real trouble. Luna hadn’t known her long enough to be able to pick up on what would be considered odd behavior from her. So by the time they did figure out it was a youma plot, if it was, it maybe too late.

“Should I maybe transform before we go in?” she asked.

Luna shook her head. “Would raise too many eyebrows. Best to just go in as yourself. Going in as Sailor Moon could present its own set of issues. Especially in the long term.”

“And if it is a youma and it does become alerted to my presence somehow. I will need to transform and even if it is a Dark Kingdom plot that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have security equipment.” Usagi asked raising an eyebrow choosing to ignore the long term comment for now, that was something they could address later. She did understand where Luna was coming from but it did present a sort of danger if this was a Dark Kingdom plot.

“I may actually have a solution for that.” Luna said brightening up after a second. A backflip later she was presented with a pen. “This is the Luna disguise pen. It can transform you into anyone you can think of. It will be able to fool any cameras into thinking your someone else. So in case you do need to transform they won’t be able to tell you are well you.”

“That’s nifty.” She said squatting down to pick up the pen and examining it. Looked like most other pens you would see the only real distingushing features was the jewel on top and it being slightly larger then normal. “So how do I activate it?”

“Say Moon Power and then tell it what you want to look like.What you end up as depends on the instructions you give it.” Luna explained.

“All right seems simple enough.” She said straightening up holding the pen up in the air. Well simple enough up until you had to pick what you were being disguised as. But considering the events of earlier that day she had an idea, “Moon Power transform me into a typical school boy!”

A power similar to the one that came over her when she had first transformed into Sailor Moon washed over her. And sure enough a minute later she found herself standing in her school’s boy uniform. That wasn’t the only change too though judging by the sudden absence of her ponytails. Noticing Usagi looking curiously at the changes Luna said. “The magic is only a temporary illusion and will last a few hours at most. Though that would be pushing it so we should get a move on. Though I must ask, why a boy?”

“Well all the victims in my class were boys. So that seems to be what the youma was targeting. So it made the most sense.” Plus she was a bit curious just how far the magic’s extent reached she had to admit.

Luna made a noise at that. “I guess that makes sense. Let’s best get this over with.”

“Right.” Usagi said as the two entered the house.

* * *

Using the Luna pen in the ended up being the right call. While somehow she had managed to get into the fortune teller’s without being detected the glowing cards had kind of given it away that this was actually a Dark Kingdom plot and not just some shop on a street.

‘There are still way too many civilians here.’ Usagi thought looking around. Even after the table got tossed and Luna had landed a scratch resulting in the youma letting out a shriek, the room was still mostly occupied. Which presented its own set of issues. She could transform into Sailor Moon now seeing as the Luna Pen would keep someone from realizing who she was even if her Senshi and civilian form really didn’t look that much different. But what would keep people from drawing the wrong connections about her boy disguise being connected to her Senshi form?

“Usagi-” She looked down to see Luna hissing at her. “Why haven’t you transformed yet?”

“There’s still a lot of people even after all that fuss.” Usagi tried to explain.

“The pen’s magic-” Luna began.

“Yeah, yeah I know it keeps it so I appear to anyone including myself as anyone but myself. But what if someone draws a conclusion about this being connected to Sailor Moon somehow?” she asked.

“We will get to that bridge when we come to it. For now we have bigger problems to deal with. Transform!” was Luna’s response.

“If you say so. Moon Prism Power, Make Up!” Usagi said with a slight bit of hesitancy lifting the broach in the air and yelling the transformation phrase.

By the time her Luna Pen disguise had faded into her Senshi uniform the youma had morphed into her true form. Thankfully that did cause anyone who hadn’t fallen victim to the youma’s brainwashing cards to scatter rather quickly. The youma sneered at her saying. “And who just might you be?”

Luna looked up at her expectantly. She let out a sigh, just this once since for some reason the youma had actually asked instead of straight out attacking for some odd reason. “For Love and Justice I am the sailor suited pretty soldier, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon I'll punish you!”

“Sailor Moon? Never heard of you.” The youma sneered. Did the people who worked at the Dark Kingdom not talk to each other? It seemed like someone fighting them would be the kind of news that would spread. She knew the youma that she had defeated last time hadn’t talked to anyone before its defeat... But you would think whoever was in charge of them would have been watching to make sure everything was going as planned. Apparently not.

“Yeah well I’m new to this job and apparently your boss doesn’t pay much attention.” Was her response as she ducked some brainwashed patron. Where did these people come from was really a mystery of its own.

“Usagi quit antagonizing the youma and fight.” Came Luna’s helpful suggestion.

“You were the one insisting before that I have to introduce myself to the enemy.” She pointed out okay she had been partly replying to the youma. Luna had insisted on it before now.

“Okay maybe that wasn’t the best idea.” Luna conceded.

“Finally.” Sailor Moon muttered more to herself as she dodged another outstretched arm. Really the people were more annoying then dangerous at the moment.

“There has got to be a better way of going about this that doesn’t involve me constantly getting cornered by these youma’s victims.” She complained as she found the last move had caused her to end up getting pushed back into a corner. Maybe it was the whole fighting in smale spaces things? She drew in a deep breath before ducking beneath the arm of one of the brainwashed customers. They were getting too close for her comfort leve and while there wasn’t a ton of them there was enough to cause her trouble if she attempted to power up the tiara. That guy from the other day could be really useful right about now.

As if summoned by her thoughts there was a slicing noise followed by a yelp from the youma. Right on cue a guy in a cape stepped out between her line of sight and the youma. Huh, so this was the person that had helped her out the other night. Not exactly was what she was expecting but she would take it at this point.

“Luna you didn’t mention that I would be working with any guys.” Sailor Moon commented to the cat ducking around another brainwashed person. She needed to get in better position to attack the youma, which might be easier said then done considering the area of the room and the amount of people in it. At least the guy was distracting the youma for now.

“That’s because I didn’t know of any that would be working against the Dark Kingdom.” Luna responded eyes never straying from the caped guy who had just arrived who was having some squabble with the youma. Or maybe he was fighting it? Hard to tell from this angle what exactly was going on.

She did have almost a direct line of sight but it was being obstructed by the caped guy. Maybe if she powered up her Tiara and yelled duck he would get what she was planning? It was dangerous but she didn’t have much in the way of options. The youma's victims were still around and still causing a bit of a problem. Though now they were split between whether to go after him or her. Which gave her just enough of an opening to power up the tiara.

“Duck!” Sailor Moon yelled tossing the tiara in the direction of the youma and hoping the new ally wouldn’t get hit by the tiara. Thankfully the caped man seemed to get the idea ducking out of the way of the tiara just in time for it to whiz over his head and hit the youma turning it to dust.

As the brainwashed people collapsed into a pile of heap the guy turned to her saying. “That was a bit risky. How did you know I was going to follow your command?”

“Considering this is the second time you’ve helped me out and you appear to be fighting these youmas I figured that you would get the idea. Still, hopefully we don’t find ourselves in that situation again.” Sailor Moon said.

“That’s not saying much coming from someone who seems to have a pension for getting in trouble when up against these creatures.” He pointed out.

“Look- er do you have a name I can call you?” Sailor Moon asked.

“For now just call me Tuxedo Kamen.” The man now known as Tuxedo Kamen said.

“Look Tuxedo Kamen I just got this ‘job’ a few days ago. That night at the jewelers shop was my first night on the job. I am still figuring out what to do. So there are going to be mishaps since I’m so new at this.” Sailor Moon argued. Luna and her had been going over some strategies to deal with youma but it was hard to balance Senshi duty in with everything else she was discovering. Once she had been doing this longer it would hopefully would get easier.

“And you don’t think I might be new at this?” He asked.

“Well-er,” The thought hadn’t occured to her. He seemed a lot more competent at fighting the Dark Kingdom already then she was. The thought that he maybe new to this job hadn’t even crossed her mind. Though honestly she hadn’t put much thought into the guy before now.

“Sorry.” Sailor Moon said after having a second to collect her thoughts. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was apologizing for? Making the wrong assumption maybe?

“It’s fine just try to be more careful in the future for both of our sakes.” Tuxedo Mask said before disappearing with a swish of the cape.

“I have to learn that trick.” Sailor Moon said more to herself then to Luna.

“Moon that trick is a bit difficult to pull off with your attire.” Luna pointed out.

She gave a shrug at that. “Eh. Still a neat trick even if it’s not one I can do. We should get out of here before anyone wakes up and starts asking question.”

Technically Usagi had been the one to delay their departure with her discussion with Tuxedo Mask. But at this point it was probably not best to point that out so Luna simply shifted slightly realizing also that a couple of the youma’s customers were starting to now stir. “Right of course.”

* * *

"Anything I should know before we start this conversation with your parents?" Luna asked as they rode the elevator to Usagi's family's apartment. She had been smuggled in a small bag. The elevator was empty so Luna felt fairly confident in posing a question.

"Not that you don't know already. Mom and Dad have always been protective and that's only grown since Shingo died. Mom, I think, might be reluctantly on board with this. The problem is going to be convincing Dad." Usagi said after a moment. "Maybe don't mention you haven't found my teammates yet."

"You want me to lie?" Luna asked in surprise. She hadn't really thought Usagi would try to advocate lying...

"Maybe not lie but if they don't bring them up then don't bring them up. I think we got out the other night partly because Mom thought I was meeting someone else. I'm not sure how well this conversation go if they realized I am working alone for now." Usagi admitted. Though if they lied that might backfire too.

"If it wasn't so difficult and might cause other problems I would have already pulled Venus." Luna grumbled slightly. Having Venus all the way across another continent wasn't her first choice in the matter.

"I know Luna." Usagi let out a sigh. "Okay maybe don't lie but just be careful."

"I was already going to have to be careful Usagi." Luna pointed out. From the one conversation she had been around Usagi's parents for she had realized she was going to have thread carefully to make sure they signed off on her being Sailor Moon.

"Ready or not Luna." Usagi noted as the elevator dinged indicating they had reached the floor she lived on.

* * *

 The conversation had been tense from the start. Despite warning her Dad ahead of time of just who Luna was and why she was needed, he was having a difficult time excepting her own role in these events. Not that she wouldn't deny she was still having a hard time with that herself.

"Mr. Tsukino.  _Please_  understand I would rather just let the girls lead normal lives." Luna said trying to placate him. "Unfortunately, the Dark Kingdom closed that door of opportunity in this lifetime. They have to fight, or else Earth may become a dead planet."

"How can you be so sure that they are that dangerous?" Her Dad asked skeptically. That seemed like a bit of a stretch for an organization he had never heard of before a few hours ago.

"Because they already killed millions before." Luna said somberly. "I watched an entire civilization that spanned this entire solar system wiped out eons before you were born. They care not for who lives on this planet but only for power and their continued existence."

"Entire civilization...!?" Her Mom whispered faintly, alarmed and looking like she might actually faint any moment.

"It's a long tale but the short version is Earth wasn't always the only inhabited planet." Luna explained. "The Dark Kingdom is responsible for that being lost. I'm trying to prevent a repeat of the very same situation."

" **At my daughter's expense**?!" Her Dad growled. He hated the idea of his daughter going out on a regular basis and endangering herself. They had already lost Shingo, he didn't want to lose her to.

"Papa I don't like it either but if I don't do something and that happens, your part of this world too. So am I and so is mom and  _so was Shingo_." Usagi said breaking into the argument for the first time. She still had her reservations about Sailor Moon. But one of her feelings was strong, she wouldn't let anyone get hurt or worse killed because of her lack of activism. She wasn't going to let any more families lose someone like they had lost Shingo. Not if she had a say in it. "They went after Naru the first time. Some of my classmates, the nicer ones- "Though other than Umino it was pressing at times to maybe call them nice. "Were targeted the last time. I can't sit by while people I know are hurt."

"I still don't like this." Her Dad said crossing his arms in frustration. Though Usagi could see he was slowly to come around to the idea.

"We're not asking you to like it Mr. Tsukino. We're just asking for you to support her." Luna said after a moment. Deciding to leave out for the moment she had been against telling Usagi's parents at first. She had a feeling that wouldn't go over well. "Your daughter is crucial in keeping Earth safe. I can't ask anyone else to do this."

"There's really no one else for the job?" Her Mom broke in for the first time asking. She had been pretty much letting Luna and her Dad go back and forth on the subject.

Luna shook her head. "No. Only a select few people can do this job. Your daughter just happens to be one of them."

"What about these other people you just mentioned though? Can't they take up her spot?" Her Dad asked frowning slightly.

Luna let out a sigh. "Senshi work best in teams. The smallest group you'll probably ever see is a team of two. Even that's fairly rare. Usually they start at groups of three. When the team that Usagi leads is fully assembled there will be at least five of them. It would be a bad idea to pull your daughter from the team. They need her as much as she needs them." Luna explained. There was a possibility that all the Sol System senshi could awaken leading to the full nine senshi being assembled. But the idea of the Outer Senshi awakening and Pluto leaving her post for this was a bit unsettling. Partly due to the fact they usually weren't front line fighters.

"Doesn't that Sailor V work alone though?" Her Dad asked frowning slightly. Maybe this other character wasn't a senshi though...

"Sailor V is a unique case." Luna admitted with some hesitation. "We would rather not have her off by herself doing senshi work but there are superseding circumstances. We don't have a choice in the matter. First chance we get she'll be leaving England and coming back to join the team. Due to her extenuating circumstances, that will take a while."

"It's just temporary right? Until this Dark Kingdom is defeated?" Her Dad asked.

"Just until the Dark Kingdom is defeated." Luna confirmed. Even if something reared its head afterwards the other senshi should, hopefully, be powerful to take care of it. Sailor Moon had been a last resort even back in the days of the Silver Alliance so hopefully this would be the one time she was called upon.

"I still don't like it, but I want you to tell me or your mother if you come back injured." Her Dad said. If nothing else, he realized his daughter would be doing this no matter what he said. Luna wasn't seeking permission, and neither was Usagi.

"Of course." Usagi said giving him a reassuring smile as she noticed Luna starting to relax a bit out of the corner of her eye. Apparently, she had been a bit worried about this conversation even if she had denied it. Usagi wondered what Luna would have done if they hadn't given them their approval.

* * *

 

Luna snuck into the arcade one late night about a week after the fortune teller incident to have a long delayed talk with Central Command. She had been avoiding the conversation about getting advice on how to deal with Usagi’s want to avoid her destiny as leader of the Senshi. With a week gone by and no real progress in convincing Usagi that it would be alright she realized that she needed to actually seek outside advice on the subject.

It was a common misconception, by most members of the Silver Alliance, that Central Command had been run by the Moon Kingdom. Very few knew where central command, home to the Senshi Council, the ruling body for the Sailor Senshi was actually located. Those who did were either on the council itself, had some sort of unique ability, or had run into trouble with the council in the past.  Honestly, she was hoping that she wouldn’t need to talk to them too much. As the girls awakened she was going to need to at least converse with them some. At least on a basic level let them know that there were new Sailor Senshi running around in the Sol System for the first time in over a thousand years.

“She doesn’t feel comfortable taking the role as supreme leader of the Sol Sailor Senshi.” Luna explained after a slight pause hesitating for a second she had been going over the detail’s of Usagi, her awakening and the fight so far when they had strayed onto the topic of possible of concerns. Was this really the best thing to be telling Central Command? Without confirming Usagi was Serenity she was a tad bit worried about their possible reaction to this. The broach had accepted her as Sailor Moon so regardless of her status as Moon Princess or otherwise she was the rightful Sailor Moon by the Henshin Item Act which stated that once the item accepted the trainee as its wielder it was forever theres.

“What do you mean by not comfortable?” Was the inquiring response. Okay so that wasn’t the worst way this conversation could go she would take it.

“She’s afraid that they might not listen to her as a leader. Since she moved to Tokyo she had problem making friends. A lot seems to deviate back to her medical history and some bully at her school. I think with time she’ll grow to accept it but she is going to need both that and patience from her team.” Luna tried to explain to her best while still sidestepping what the exact issue. Most likely Central would eventually find out on its own, what Usagi’s actual issues were and why she was so reluctant to lead the Sailor Senshi, but for now she was just going to sidestep that conversation

 “Due to her being a Lunar the others will follow and respect her whether its on a subconscious level or more upfront. I’m not quiet sure what the concern is.” was the response.

“I realize that and I’ve tried to explain that to her however she doesn’t seem to want to accept it until she actually sees it. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s best to leave it as is right now. She will either come into the role subconsciously on her own with time or she will eventually make the conscious decision to be leader once she realizes the other girls will follow her as a leader. It just might take some time.” Luna said.

“Which you don’t have with Kunzite on the move where Venus is and Jadeite on the move where you are.” Came the exasperate response.

Luna frowned slightly thinking for a second over her previous conversations with Usagi before responding. “We might not need a lot of it. She is already starting to regain bits and pieces of her memories of the Moon Kingdom. From what little she has mentioned the awakening as Sailor Moon has started to accelerate that. Right now it’s not enough to construct a full picture of her life or the time period or who she exactly was on the Moon but with her memories eventual return she may fall into that role sooner rather then later since eventually she should realize that her being in the Lunar Royal Family gives her some form of respect.”

“Any indications of who she was in the Lunar Family?” Was the expected response.

“Some. Nothing that can really be confirmed until the Princess has been reawakened.” Luna responded going around the question for the most part.

“What about the other Sailor Senshi? Any signs of them?” The next question as the topic shifted.

“None. I wish I could say we have some leads on them but so far the only known Senshi besides Moon is Venus. Neither of us have enough memories to start to pinpoint the girls. Hopefully, we’ll have some sort of breakthrough soon.” Luna hoped that would be enough.

“So it’s down to chance at the moment then.” The annoyed response.

“Unfortunately, yes. Hopefully luck will be on our side though otherwise this is going to be a long drawn out fight.” Luna admitted.

“Alright. Keep us updated to any changes or if you manage to find any other Senshi. Otherwise just stick to the weekly reports you have been submitting.” Came the message after a brief pause.

“Understood.” Luna said. A second later the machine turned off indicating the end of the communication. As she wandered back out of the arcade she couldn’t help but wonder just how difficult the next few months were going to be.

End Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap for Chapter 2. See you on 12/8


	3. Cute, Fluffy, and Evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off sorry this is so late on Friday. Middle of finals and I had an exam today. So I’ve been busy to say the least.
> 
> Second since apparently, we need to address this. To the anon who left the review: I have no clue how you missed the fact that this story’s an alternative universe. But congratulations on missing that point quiet spectacularly I might add. If you bothered to read the first chapters notes you would have noticed I mentioned several of the things you complained about and the fact that I advised anyone who did not like the manga and by extension Crystal to probably stay away from this since I would be taking elements from it. Not a ton since this is primarily based around the 90s anime. But knowing how picky fellow 90s fans can get I thought it was a fair warning. You provided an excellent example of why I needed to even issue that warning. And some non-fans might not find this to be their cup of tea. 
> 
> Okay that feels better to get off since I couldn’t exactly reply to a non-user or someone who isn’t signed in. 
> 
> Anyways. Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing the chapter. Hope everyone enjoys it.

“Any luck?” she asked not looking up from her school work as Luna returned to Naru’s place from a patrol. The girls were having a study sleepover over the weekend so she was seeing a bit more of Luna then she usually did. It had been only a day since the fortune teller incident and Luna had been spending most of her time patrolling for either more Dark Kingdom activity or looking for her fellow Sailor Senshi. So far, she hadn’t found any of either. 

“No nothing yet. They have to be around here somewhere.” Luna said frowning slightly.

“Why do you think they are within Tokyo anyway?” Naru asked. That was actually a good question. There was a lot of places that these people could be. What was to say that the rest of them were here in the first place? 

“You girls are naturally drawn to each other. I just can’t fathom them being anywhere but somewhere close by.” was Luna’s response.

“Yeah but didn’t you say Venus is currently in England?” Usagi asked frowning slightly. Luna when questioned had mentioned another senshi being awake but not being anywhere near Tokyo. Which made her question the statement Luna had just made. 

Luna nodded. “Yes, she is right now. Sailor V, is however, originally from Tokyo. She is taking a semester abroad from what I understand.”

“Huh, well I’m not really sure why you are in such a hurry to find the others. I’m doing okay so far.” Usagi said. Okay maybe she was more then a little nervous about working with new people. 

“It isn’t so much how good or bad of job you are doing Usagi. It deals more with groups power dynamics. With a couple of exceptions Sailor Senshi very rarely work alone.” Luna explained. 

“But isn’t Venus working alone?” she asked frowning slightly. 

“We’re making an exception for Venus because of the circumstances. But really she shouldn’t be alone and if things were even slightly different someone would probably be with her.” Luna confessed. 

“What about that guy we ran into at the fortune teller’s place? Could he be considered a Senshi?” Naru asked moving the subject away from Venus bringing up a good point having heard about the weird masked guy. While they hadn’t exactly hit it off it hadn’t been the world’s worse way to meet a potential evil fighting partner admittedly. 

Luna shook her head, “No. Sailor Senshi are females; besides that I have never seen one donning that kind of uniform before. I’m not sure who he is.”

“I wish I could actually remember more then a couple of people from the Moon Kingdom it would make this easier.” Usagi grumbled more to herself after the had lapsed into a brief silence. It would sure simplify the situation. And there was enough of a pause that she didn’t realize what she had let slip. She still hadn’t told Luna what her and Naru suspected based on their own conversations. 

“You remember people from the Moon Kingdom? Do you remember any of the other Senshi? Oh this could save us so much time on our search for the others-” Luna exclaimed face lighting up. Apparently she had missed the part that she only remembered a couple of people only hooking on to the part that she just remembered people period. 

“About that actually-” Usagi hesitantly cut in. Luna looked so hopeful that she almost didn’t want to break it to her that she couldn’t remember anyone besides well Luna, that prince guy, and a lady that was most likely the Queen or if they were right her mother?

“What?” Luna asked her face turning into a frown.

“I hate to say it but outside of you, a guy armor, and a lady who may or may not be the Queen from what you told me, I haven’t seen much of anyone. I’ve had some where I’m calling out or meeting up with someone. But they always end before I can actually see the person.” She explained.

Luna’s face fell slightly at that sighing, “Of course it couldn’t be that simple.”

“I’m sorry Luna.” Usagi said giving the cat a scratch behind the ear, she truly was in a way. In spite of all her reluctance to lead a team of almost certainly teenagers Luna was so vested in this she couldn’t help but feel a bit bad about not being able to help.

“It’s not your fault. We got more of a head start then I thought we ever would by having your memories accidentally partially unlocked before our first meeting. It was just wishful thinking to think you had started remembering the other Sailor Senshi.” Luna reassured her.

“Is this going to make finding them more difficult?” Usagi asked. 

“No more than it already is. If you had something to go off of it would make things easier but we can still find them. As it is we are where we were when we started. I was able to find you after some searching. I certainly can find them.” Luna reassured. 

“It just may take a while.” Usagi realized.

Luna made a noise in agreement, “Correct. Hopefully even with the holes in our memories, when we do start to encounter them, will begin to trigger and we will be able to identify them correctly without too much trouble.”

 

A few days passed without incident so she was starting to think that the Dark Kingdom had finally taken a break at first. That was until one day her classmates showed up touting a bunch of a new type of pets she had never seen before. She usually tried to keep her distance but the closest one to her was Yuki’s pet. Well at this point there wasn’t much anything worse she could do anyway. 

So she opted to try and get a look over the shoulder of Yuki to try and see if she could see anything suspicious. She got only a short look before she got shooed away by Yuki. Well that was different. Yuki would be the first one to make a cross comment for any reason really, least of all if she thought she was being annoying. Not one to just simply shoo her away. But whatever those were looked fairly normal so no reason to be weirded out yet. Maybe she was just having an off day. 

“What are those?” Usagi said more to herself as she went to stand next to Naru who was next to the classroom windows. Class wasn’t set to start for a bit so no real reason to sit down yet. 

“Chinchellas. There’s a new pet shop in Azabu’s that’s been selling them.” Came Naru’s ever so helpful answer.

“Seems like almost everyone in class has one.” Usagi commented looking around. With the exception of her, Naru, and some of the guys most people had one and were all comparing theirs to each other’s.

“They are really popular. The shop looked packed when we were going by. I’m surprised you hadn’t heard of them honestly.” Naru commented. 

“I’ve been a bit too busy lately to go down to Azabu.” Knowing Naru would know exactly why without having to go into detail

“Oh yeah with everything else you haven’t had much free time.” Naru agreed.

“Nope.” she replied. 

“You still coming over tonight? I know you mentioned that your parents are trying yet another doctor.” Naru asked switching topics.

Usagi groaned slightly at that. “No that’s not until Friday thankfully. I am already dreading that appointment.”

“Don’t be too pessimistic yet. Maybe you’ll find the right doctor.” Naru said hopefully.

“Luna will remember everything before that ever happens.” Usagi retorted sure of her assessment. She had pretty much given up on finding someone and was just taking the mentality of one step at a time. The only reason why she still even went to these appointments was to appease her parents. She doubted they were going to find anyone decent at this point. 

\----------------------------

“What in the world are you looking at?” was Luna’s greeting later that day. She was taking a short break from school work to look up those chinchellas when Luna had happened to walk in from a day out. 

“Huh? Oh uh some of the kids in my class had these and I was trying to see what the fuss was all about.” Usagi explained.

“How did you learn about them?” Luna asked trying to look over her shoulder at the website. 

“They kind of brought them to class today. It was hard to miss. Especially when one of the girl’s pulled hers out again during the lecture.” Usagi explained frowning at the photo on the website. They did look cute, but still the reaction from the girls was strange to say the least. Things had seemed fairly normal right up until that point. Some of the girls may think they were above most people but it just seemed odd for them to just walk out in the middle of class like they had. 

“I thought you weren’t allowed to have pets. That’s why I’m here at your friends place.” Luna said. 

“Still not. I’m just curious I guess.” Usagi said turning away from the computer to face Luna.

“About what?” Luna asked hopping up to take a better look at the picture.

“You’re thinking that the other kids reaction might be youma related?” Naru, who had previously been silent while they spoke, asked seeming to get where her train of thought was going. 

“It would make sense I mean what else could evoke that kind of a reaction when Ms Haruna told our classmates to put them away?” Usagi asked Naru.

“True.” Naru agreed. 

“What do you mean?” Luna asked frowning.

“Well one of the girls shoved her into some desks before walking out of the classroom without so much as an apology. I mean I know they can be a bit harsh sometimes. But…this was a bit much even for them.” she admitted.

Luna hmmed at that which caused her to frown. “Luna?” Questioned Usagi.

“It’s definitely a possibility if it really was such an out of character moment for them.” Luna admitted after a slight pause.

“Yeah though the whole thing was weird. Cute animals? Isn't that odd? Wouldn't they use something dark and scary like spiders or something?” Naru argued taking another look at the picture Usagi was holding. They seemed like hardly the weird creatures her friend had been fighting the last couple of weeks. 

“Not really. The Dark Kingdom will try and exploit any weakness it can find to gather energy so it can strengthen itself. It thinks it can use cute animals to do that then I wouldn’t put it past them to try and somehow use them." Looking directly in her charges eyes now after answering Naru's inquiry. "Usagi you are going to have to eventually learn that the enemy is going to come in many shapes and forms so sometimes we will have to expect the unexpected.” Luna explained.

“This coming from the same cat that was saying last week there was no way the fortune teller’s place was a Dark Kingdom plot?” Usagi pointed out. There had been a bit of an argument over whether or not the fortune teller shop could be a new plot (which is why her and Naru had gone alone originally) before the Umino incident. 

Luna made a face at that. “All right. In retrospect that wasn’t my best call but there are going to be a few bumps in the road. For both of us. We’re just going to have to learn to work with them.”

“So, what do we do?” Usagi asked after a moment. 

“I guess we need to go to this shop and see if they are part of a Dark Kingdom plot.” Injected Naru. Luna started towards the door ready to go before realizing both Usagi and Naru both were still sitting where they had been with no sign of getting up. “What is it now?” 

“It’s getting kind of late and we still have some school work to finish.” Usagi admitted making a motion at her almost forgotten textbook. Okay admittedly she was looking for a way to procrastinate, even if it meant doing something she equally disliked. But it wasn’t exactly that early in the evening either.

“Usagi we really should take care of it tonight before it gets even more out of hand and we’ve discussed the school work thing before.” Luna said approaching her with a frown. 

“I know I’ll come just doesn’t mean I’ll like it.” Usagi grumbled.

“I’ll cover for you if Mom comes a knocking but you should be good as long as you get back before she closes up the shop.” Naru said waving her off even though she clearly wished to wait and go with her.

“Thanks, Naru I owe you one.” Usagi said giving her best friend a smile before taking off. 

\----------------------------

“So, this is the place.” Usagi said looking up at the rather large store front. It was getting pretty late in the evening so Azabu was most empty by now. But somehow, the pet shop was still surrounded by tons of kids and other prospective customers. 

“There are more people then I thought there would be.” Luna commented.

“It’s definitely crowded.” Usagi agreed, especially for a weekday at this time. 

“All right lets get you transformed and find this youma.” Luna said turning to her.

“Okay but what do we do about all the people? This is a lot more possible brainwashed people? I’m going to have to deal with then I’ve dealt with before.” Usagi asked frowning and scanned the crowd. At most she maybe had dealt with ten, maybe twenty people on that first night, in one go. It looked like there was upwards of a hundred-people hanging around the store that she would probably have to deal with to get to the youma. 

Luna frowned for a second before lighting up. “I know just the thing. It will take care of any brainwashing that the youma may have done and that should give you a clear path to whomever it is.” 

“And you didn’t mention this before...?” Usagi asked raising an eyebrow. Something that could actually take care of the youma brainwashing seemed almost to good to be true. Especially considering how much trouble she had run into just in the last couple of fights. 

Luna’s ears flattened and she looked sheepish. “It honestly got away from me with all the holes in my memory.”

Okay that was definitely realistic she thought letting out a sigh. “Okay let’s find somewhere more discreet to transform and then you can explain to me how I take care of the youma control problem.”

\----------------------------

“Moon Tiara Stardust!” Sailor Moon shouted releasing the tiara over some unsuspecting customers a short while later hoping it would take care of whatever magic the youma had concocted this time. Luna was proving to be a fairly reliable resource, holes in her memory and all, but it was still hard to put trust in something like this actually working. If it did it would be nice to have to fight a youma without dealing with too many complications. 

Sailor Moon let out a sigh of relief as most of the crowd began to straighten up glancing about, seemingly confused, but other than that okay. Despite the holes this apparently had been one thing that had held out. So, one problem down, one to go. Now she just had to find the youma, whoever or whatever that was. Glancing around the room, most of the crowd had yet to move and seemed to be a bit lost. But there was a woman that she could just make out over the sea of heads making a very quick beeline for what appeared to be the back of the store. Well that solved the problem of almost surely who the youma was, now probably the more daunting task at the moment, getting to the youma since the crowd had yet to actually go anywhere. 

Sailor Moon glanced at the crowd gathered with a frown, you would think they would have dispersed by now but she only saw a few people making a beeline for the front of the store. Most were still standing around trying to get their bearings which meant she would have to force her way through to get to where the youma had gone. Turning to Luna she asked. “Any ideas? I think I saw the youma escaping out through the back but there is a lot of people between us and her.” 

Luna frowned slight seeming to realize the same problem. “I guess we will have to force our way through the crowd.”

“I really don’t like the idea of that...” Sailor Moon admitted making a face imagining what that might entail and who she might hurt in the process despite her intentions.

“Well we don’t have much in the way of choices. You don’t exactly have any authority over these people. While you could ask them politely to please leave. I am not sure everyone would disperse.” Luna said frowning taking a second look at the crowd. Maybe if the crowd was entirely made up children or teens that may younger then Usagi... However she spotted several adults in the crowd. As much as she needed Usagi to be a leader and use her position of authority when the time came she had doubts that adults would listen to her at this point when they were just getting the feet underneath themselves. 

“I know, I know. I just really don’t like tight crowded spaces.” Sailor Moon confessed staring at the crowd again. It was thinning out some finally. But probably by the time it thinned out for her to get through easily the youma would be long gone. So she was going to have to do this the difficult way. 

Sailor Moon drew a deep breath and then began to try and make her way through the crowd, “Excuse me, pardon me. Sorry. Have some business to take care of with the business shop ownerrrr. Whoops.” 

Sailor Moon stumbled over her own feet coming out of the backside of the ground. Luna gave her a concerned glance managing to make it out before her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just lost my balance. Did you see where the owner went?” She said getting to her feet. It wasn’t like she had actual knees to scrape at this point. It was more of an annoyance at this point. 

“Not exactly but there can’t be too many ways out of this building.” Luna frowned glancing around before spotting a door marked exit. “This way.”

“Just because its marked exit doesn’t mean she actually went that way.” Sailor Moon commented but deciding to follow Luna anyway.

“Do you have any other better idea?” Luna asked raising an eyebrow at her.

“No...” Sailor Moon grumbled slightly conceding the point. Even if these youma were weird at best the most likely path was through the shops actual exit, unless it could teleport. Which she was hoping it didn’t because that would present a whole new slew of issues.

Thankfully luck would have it the woman was still in the store’s back parking lot when they got out of the building. “Stop right there!”

“Brave little thing, aren’t you? First you destroy all of my hard work then you have the nerve to actually come after me?” the youma hissed as it shifted out of its disguise into its true form.

“Not sure if brave is the right word here.” she mumbled more to herself.

“Sailor Moon!” Luna hissed at her with an unmistakable tone of scolding. 

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Sailor Moon said eyeing the youma's tail. Best to avoid it that didn’t look like it would be fun it it managed to hit her. 

There wasn't much to do in the way of actions. All of the formerly brainwashed people were, well, somewhere. Maybe still in the shop? They weren’t there to possibly get in her way and in danger of being hit by her or the youma. Without a reason to go making a fuss about it hurting anyone Sailor Moon removed her tiara, powered it up, and tossed it. No reason to draw this out any longer then it had to be right? Only to have it bounce off the youma’s skin without so much of a dent. 

“Uhhhhh Luna what do I do now?” Sailor Moon looked to the cat in question. This was new, and troublesome. How was she supposed to beat the enemy when her lone weapon couldn’t make a dent in it?

Luna looked slightly panicked at the moment and before Sailor Moon could question her further she found herself being picked up by the lizard youma’s tail. Okay, note to self be more aware of surroundings. Luna yelped. “Sailor Moon!”

“I’m…fine. Find a…weak spot.” The struggling Sailor Moon managed to get out. Talking around a giant lizard tail was not easy. 

“Sailor Moon aim for the base of the tail!” she heard Luna yell a couple of minutes later. Thank god, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could take this. With some effort Sailor Moon open an eye she could just make out where Luna was talking about. It wasn’t going to be easy to aim with a tail around he neck but she was going to have to try apparently. 

“Moon Tiara Magic!” Sailor Moon managed to grunt out tossing it in the direction of where Luna had pointed out and hoping it hit. She would have sighed in relief if she could have when it made contact dissipating the youma. That was way too scary for her liking. 

“Are you okay?” Luna asked coming up to her.

Sailor Moon rubbed her throat slightly. “Hurts a bit where she was holding me but other then that I’m okay.”

Luna let out a sigh. “We really do need to find those girls. Fast.”

“Agreed.” she mumbled finally realizing that Luna had a point that working with others was safer. The youma fights were just getting more and more difficult. Like it or not she was going to need some sort of consistent back up, and not the random kind that the tuxedo guy provided. 

“I thought you were against working with others?” Luna asked as they started to move away from the fight area. No reason to stick around with the job done. 

“I still don’t like it but I’m starting to see your point on how useful it would be to have someone working with me to fight a youma.” Sailor Moon conceded thinking about how if there were stronger ones than that she'd be toast without help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap for this week. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to leave a review if you want. I enjoy reading them even if they can get kind of ridiculous like the one with the anon.
> 
> Chapter 4 will go up on 12/22.


	4. Melody of the Warriors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey guys. So first off for future reference I keep an update on the story status on my profile. So if you want to know what's going on. Why a chapter seems delayed.

Chapter 4

Melody of the Warriors

_It was one of those dreams again. The Moon Kingdom being where she was once more. These dreams where memory and dream seem to be_ blured _into one for had had a couple since Luna awoken her as Sailor Moon but nothing in them that could make of any use so far. But at least she knew why she was getting them now._

 _"_ Mama. _" Usagi called. Who her mother was, was still a mystery. All the memories she had seen so far had always put her in some sort of shadow. She wasn't sure if that was the way her previous mother had walked or just that she had yet to recall how the woman who had been her mother, in that past life, actually looked._

 _"_ Yes _Serenity?" The mysterious woman, her past self's mother, said turning to her. Still no clear idea of how she looked. She was starting to think it was the former though at this rate. How much could one person walk in the shadows after all?_

_"Why don't the girls I met today work with my other guardians?" she asked._

_"_ Well _they do sometimes Serenity. Their main job is to keep us and the rest of the Silver Alliance safe from anyone who seeks to invade us from outside the system where as your guardian's main job is to protect us from threats within the system. They only work with the other girls when the threat is so great that no one team can fight them off alone." Usagi's past self's mother, Serenity's mother explained._

_"Oh." Usagi/Serenity said. "So I won't be seeing them again?"_

_"It is unlikely-" Her mother agreed. "They usually remain at their posts unless summoned by myself or one of the other Queens."_

_"Oh. I liked them." Usagi/Serenity said more to herself_ then _to her mother feeling a slight melancholy at the prospect of not seeing them again._

_"You'll see them again someday. That's what comes with your job and theirs. However, it won't be for many years from now." Her mother's response, clearly reading her easily- "Now come along I was able to pull you out for now to attend diplomatic necessities but you still have your afternoon lessons."_

_Usagi/Serenity grumbled to herself at the thought of going back to class. If there was anything that she hated more then going to all the diplomatic meetings it was attending her lessons. But she knew better_ than _to try and sneak off from her mother. It never worked. Anything else that could be useful_ from _the dream/memory would have to wait._

Usagi was jolted awake by Naru's alarm with a groan ending the dream abruptly. A quick glance told her the other girl was missing and must have awoken before the alarm leaving her and Luna to themselves.

"Usagi?" Luna asked eyeing her curiously as she ran a hand through her hair.

"I had another one of those dreams that was also a memory of Serenity's." Usagi explained starting to get ready for school. Not noticing for the moment that she had let slip the Serenity thing. She was still going around it. Though with Luna regaining her own memories it maybe only a matter of time before she figured it out on her own.

"Anything useful?" Luna perked up. So far there hadn't been much they could go on on finding the other senshi. But she couldn't help but hope that might soon change.

"No not really. Just my mother again, though I can't see what she looks like. We were talking about some other guardians that protected us from invaders outside the system." Usagi explained to Luna moving to get ready.

"The outer senshi." Luna muttered seeming a little surprised.

"You don't sound too happy about that." Usagi inquisitively turned to face the cat from where she was seated putting on her prosthetics for the day. She would have thought that Luna would be pleased about anything concerning the Senshi at this point.

"I have mixed feelings. It could be a bad omen and it could mean nothing. The outer senshi, the girls whose job it was to protect our system from invaders coming from the outside very rarely left their posts unless there was an urgent and very powerful danger." Luna explained. It was a rare occasion the outer senshi were called from their posts to serve directly outside of their usual duties.

"Oh." Usagi said.

"It maybe nothing but it is curious that you would have a memory associated with them now of all times. Especially when you wouldn't have a ton of those to begin with." Luna explained.

"Well there's nothing we can do about it now. Hopefully, it isn't some spooky omen. Hopefully, we find someone soon. For now I need to get to school so I don't get yelled at by Ms. Haruna for running late again." Usagi said standing up after finishing putting on the last of her clothing and fixing her hair. Moving to the door Usagi surmised that it was a mystery for a time when she wasn't so worried about school. Hopefully.

* * *

For the first time that either of them could remember they had Naru's place to themselves. Her Mom was off somewhere and Luna was out doing Luna things. That's how they got somehow onto the topic of sneaking into a concert. Apparently, Naru had been wanting to see some jazz musician for the first time.

"Naru I get you want to see this guy live but this might be one of your more hairbrained ideas. Do you realize how much trouble we could get into?" Usagi hissed taking the offered dress from Naru.

"And yet you're still getting dressed for this." Naru commented clearly amused by her protests.

"Only to keep you from getting into more trouble." Usagi grumbled a protest more to herself.

"Come on it will be fun. It's a good way to blow off steam before finals." Naru insisted.

"Playing arcade games is blowing off steam sneaking into a concert is something else." Usagi had added to her argument about this being a not so great idea, hands fidgeting towards her prosthetics, before stepping into the bathroom to change. They could get into a bunch of trouble for this but she couldn't deny she kind of did want to go.

"You really shouldn't let others comments get to you." Naru said with a sigh having noticed the gesture before Usagi entered the bathroom.

"I know, I know." Usagi fumbled around in the bag looking for the Luna Pen. That could solve all their problems right now.

"What's that?" Naru asked looking at it.

"Magical disguise pen. Luna gave this to me during the fortune teller incident. This should solve the whole displaying the leg issues..." Usagi trailed off pushing up on the pen to activate it.

"Still wish you wouldn't. Your fine the way you are Usa but if it gets you out the door..." Naru let it trail off frowning.

"Hopefully someday I'll be better about all of this. Today is not that day and since you really want to go to this concert then I'm going to do this." Usagi said shaking her head slightly.

"Come on! What's the point of being a couple of teens if we don't live a little?" Naru questioned while eagerly pushing a still slightly reluctant Usagi slightly in the direction of the door.

* * *

As it turns out they couldn't even make into the lobby area without trouble. They had somehow managed to get through the front door without attracting much attention. But then had come the security check and the lack of a concert ticket had surfaced. So that was how Usagi and Naru had found themselves trying to talk their way out of a possible situation with a security guard. Luck had other ideas as fate would have it that someone stepped in before the two girls could get into any real trouble.

"It's okay. They're with us." Someone interfered. Her and the security guard turned and she was surprised to see it was one of the people from the flyer Naru had shown her. Okay, unexpected but definitely helpful. She noticed the security guard make a face out of the corner of her eye but did back off thankfully.

"Thank you." Usagi said flushing slightly turning to face the taller girl, Haruka if she remembered the flyer Naru had shown her correctly.

"You a big fan?" Haruka asked giving her an amused look.

"Oh um yeah you could say that." Usagi said trying not to get too tripped up earning an elbow from Naru. Way to make herself believable.

"Usagi Tsukino. And this is Naru Osaka." Usagi introduced finally gathering herself.

"Haruka Tenoh, though if you're here you already know that." Was the response extending a hand to shake.

"Yeah um nice to meet you." Usagi said taking the offered hand only to be overtaken by a memory of her previous life. It was the throne room, that much she had been able to recognize and put together so far from what she had seen in her previous memories.

"You okay?" Came the next question. Must have gotten caught up in the memory longer then she had realized.

"Yeah, I'm fine just caught up in the moment. Sorry for the trouble I think I left my tickets at home by accident." Usagi said trying to play off whatever memory that had just surfaced. That was definitely a new experience she had never had a memory of the Moon Kingdom surface from having contact with someone. It had always been in dreams. It was a bit unnerving to say the least. But she had a suspicion why it had happened. One of the girls in the memory was a dead ringer for Haruka. Albeight she had been slightly younger and dawning senshi garb similar to hers but not quite the same. But there was a resemblence that she had seen. However, before she could get any more clues about what was going on the scene faded as quickly as it came.

"Just try to remember to actually bring the tickets next time." Was the teasing remark from Haruka causing her to flush a bright red.

"We will and thank you." Naru said finally grabbing her by the elbow to drag her off to a corner. She watched the tall blonde wander off with a sigh.

"What was that?" Naru asked as soon as they found a slightly quiet spot.

"A memory, never had one surface when touching someone so it took me by surprise." Usagi said quietly.

"Do you think he's a fellow senshi? I thought guys couldn't be senshi...?" Naru asked sounding a bit excited and also seeming a bit thoughtful as well.

"They can't according to Luna. There were girls, younger than them, but they looked like Haruka and her partner in Senshi uniforms so that would make sense but one of them definitely looked like the person we just talked to." Usagi said. Was she ready to handle the possibilities of teammates?

"Guess we should have brought Luna with us." Naru said frowning slightly.

"Luna would never have approved of this and you know it. We are going to get such an earful when we get back to your house." Usagi pointed out.

"Yeah, but she can't complain too much considering if we had never gone out we would never have met one of your teammates." Naru argued.

"Maybe." Usagi agreed.

"We should probably find somewhere to sit and watch the show." Naru said after a moment as they realized the lobby area was emptying out.

"Are we going to be able to find it? I mean we don't exactly have tickets. The show could be sold out for all we know." Usagi pointed out.

"We'll figure something out. Come on or else we're going to miss the beginning of the show." Naru said dragging her towards the doors to the concert hall.

* * *

"Haruka?" Michiru questioned as they stepped away from the crowd.

"Michiru look at her. I mean look actually look at her and tell me she doesn't bear some resemblance to the girl we've both seen in our dreams. In flashes." Haruka argued. Normally she would have just let security deal with the issue, but something had drawn her to the younger teen from the get-go. Once she had actually gotten a good look at her she understood why.

"You could be right but it could also be a coincidence." Michiru knew it was a weak argument but she didn't want to jump to conclusions either. The resemblance between the girl that Haruka had just gotten out of trouble and the girl from their memories was strong. Too strong. The feeling she got from her as well...

"Do you truly believe that?" Haruka asked.

Michiru sighed. "No." A moment's silence passed between before she continued. "Why now Haruka?"

Haruka sighed and ran her hands through her hair, clearly affected. "Tokyo is huge and we don't even know if for sure that she is from around here or lives near here."

"I wonder." Michiru said more to herself, wondering why they did not meet before and why not. If there was another senshi, why did they not know about her? Then again it had taken her a couple of months to just find Haruka so she couldn't really talk much. However, she had pretty much been flying blind since the point she awoke as Sailor Neptune. Maybe there were others and she just hadn't noticed? A troubling thought.

"Maybe she just woke up?" Came Haruka's next suggestion.

"Then we keep an eye out for a new Senshi." Michiru agreed. If the girl had just awoken as a Sailor Senshi then there was a good chance she was flying by the seat of her pants, as she and had. Hell, who was she kidding? They still did that a lot of the time. If she was recently awakened and without another senshi, like she had been before Haruka awakened as Sailor Uranus, then she did not envy the poor girl.

* * *

Usagi groaned from the spot her and Naru were standing in a corner of the lobby. There was someone she really hadn't ever hoped to run into outside of school. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Naru asked shooting her friend a concerned look.

"Look at the group about to approach the jazz musician you so like. Girl on the far left hand side." Usagi said trying not to talk to loudly and turning her back on the group. Though with her hair if she was spotted it wouldn't matter that she wasn't facing Yuki. The last thing she wanted was to draw more attention after the early trouble.

Naru followed her gaze before spying who Usagi had spotted. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"Are you going to be alright staying? We could always leave early." Naru asked turning her attention to Usagi. Sure, she wanted to stay but if it meant possible problems with Yuki. It was best to leave now before they were spotted.

"No, you wanted to come here. I'm not going to let our issue with each other mess this up. I'll just find somewhere else off to the side to stay until the concert starts. Hopefully she won't see me." Usagi said glancing around slightly looking for an out that she could go to without Yuki seeing her. Finally spying a hallway off to the side outside of Yuki's reign of vision. It should be safe until the concert started.

"Usagi, really. Yeah I want to go to his concert, but not at your expense." Naru said reaching out to stop Usagi. She knew how bad things had gotten with Yuki and how much running into her could affect Usagi. Crush or not she didn't want her friend getting hurt. Sure Yuki had been tamer recently but who knew how long that was going to hold? Better yet how was this going to hold outside of school where the only people she had to keep her in check were her family?

"I'll be fine really. We just have to get in and out before she realises I'm even there. We don't mingle after it's finished and we're good." Usagi said plastering on a forced smile as she started heading in the direction of the hall. "I'm getting tired of every one of my actions being dictated by Yuki and fear of what she will do." In Usagi's mind this was also it's own revenge project. Vengeance by virtue of avoidance. Yuki would probably never know but the best revenge would be to live her life and manage to get through this without Yuki's interference.

* * *

Really Usagi hadn't meant to get in trouble with the security again. She hadn't even realised she had ended up in the backstage area at first. She was just trying to get away from the lobby and possible issues with Yuki. Now here she was surrounded by about four security guards demanding to know how she had got back here and why while trying not to panic again over the lack of space around her.

"It's okay. She's back here to see me." A new voice cut in to one of the guard's question.

"Miss Kaioh. I didn't realize you were expecting any guests tonight." The big burly guy who had been ordering the other security guards around said turning away from Usagi to face the new arrival. It gave Usagi a bit more breathing room at least even if she was still feeling surrounded.

"She originally turned it down, so it was unexpected." Was the response. "I'll take it from here. You can go back to your other duties."

There was a slight muttering but that was enough to get the group to disperse. "Thank you." Usagi said after a moment. Now that the guards had left she could see it was the partner to Haruka, Michiru Kaioh. She was a bit surprised Michiru hadn't engaged her or Naru the entire time she had been talking with Haruka. She hadn't thought she would run into those two again let alone have Michiru come to her aid.

"Usagi right? You seem to have a habit of getting places your not supposed to be." Michiru noted in amusement. First the trouble with the security guards over her tickets, then the trouble over sneaking off somewhere private.

"I wasn't really trying to get in trouble again. I was just trying to get myself out of the lobby." Usagi admitted closing her eyes for a second. She should probably have realised that she would end up somewhere she wasn't supposed to be, but she was so focused on getting away from Yuki that the thought hadn't occurred to her at first.

"Too many people?' Michiru gathered in sympathy. She had seen how pale the girl had been when she had chased off the security guards. She obviously had some form of claustrophobia. She had seen Haruka have a hard time with tight spaces at time so it may not be to the same level she could tell the girl hadn't been handling the situation with the guards well.

"That's part of it." Usagi admitted. She really hadn't been enjoying the crowd that much but it wasn't the only thing. At Michiru's quirked eyebrow. "Old unfriendly classmate was here too. I really didn't want to have to deal with her. She likes to make my school life her verion of 'interesting'."

"Ah. The sort of interesting that might cause a scene?" Michiru guessed. Usagi had seemed noticeably uncomfortable with whomever this classmate was when talking. Small little ticks, like a shudder when saying her classmate made her life interesting.

"I wouldn't have started anything but she would have." Usagi admitted crossing her arms glancing back towards the lobby. Who knew what would have happened if Yuki had realised her and Naru were at the concert. "I would rather she just leave me alone." Not that Yuki ever went that route it felt like.

"What's your history with her anyway may I ask?" Michiru asked frowning slightly. There was definitely something there or else she didn't think Usagi would be actively trying to avoid her.

"There's not much to say. She pretended to be my friend for a few months. Then when she got bored she dropped me. School, up until recently has been...well difficult to put it mildly." Usagi shrugged decided to give the really short version of her and Yuki's story. Something about Michiru put her at ease, but that didn't make her want to discuss the Yuki issue any more then normal.

"What about the school administration?" Michiru asked raising an eyebrow. She could tell Usagi was leaving part of the story out but it wasn't her place to ask. There was something missing there, she doubted someone would have such a strong adversion to another person over a lost friendship.

"Refuses to do anything. I've lodged complaints more times then there are days in a month by this point. They never listen." Usagi let out a sigh. "Maybe I was over reacting. She hasn't done anything in almost a month. I was afraid since we weren't at school she might not show restraint."

"If your shared history runs that deep then your reaction was probably reasonable." Michiru mused. Most of the time she would have thought it was an over reaction but something told her that wasn't the case here. Usagi probably had a legitimate reason for wanting to be as far away from this classmate as possible. She just wasn't willing to share it.

"Well at least someone gets it." Usagi muttered to herself. Funny how someone who was pretty much a complete stranger got just how bad things were with Yuki, at least at a surface level, more then people who had been around her for months. "I probably should just go home. If she sees me..." Usagi trailed off their her mind going through around a dozen different scenarios on what Yuki might do. None of which involved Yuki just leaving her alone. Sure Yuki was leaving her alone at school but she was pretty sure that had something to do with what had happened before winter break at school. There was nothing from stopping her from acting out here.

The more Michiru talked with her the more she could see the resemblance between her and the girl that occasionally popped up in her dreams. She was starting to understand why Haruka had stepped in the first time she had run into trouble. There was something about her that she wanted to protect from anything and everyone, including this bully apparently. So maybe that's why she decided to made a suggestion she normally wouldn't have entertained. "Come on I have somewhere you can stay until it gets closer to when the show starts."

"I don't want to be anymore trouble." Usagi said reluctantly. Technically she really couldn't leave until Naru was ready to go. She could make do in the meantime. Even if it meant holing herself up in the bathroom until the concert started at the very least.

"Security already thinks your hear as my guest." Michiru said shaking her head slightly. At this point it might attract more attention if she let the girl go.

* * *

"Haruka, we've got company." Michiru called out when they went into the dressing room. Best to let Haruka know before she shot her mouth off and embarrassed them.

"Who-oh hi again." Haruka greeted when she saw Usagi standing next to Michiru looking a bit uncomfortable. While she had been grateful for the invite to keep her away from Yuki she still felt awkward taking it up. "Usagi right?"

"Yeah hi again." Usagi said giving a slight wave. Haruka frowned slightly noting that she seemed a bit more subdued then when they had met back in the lobby.

"Take a seat. I'll let you know when you need to leave." Michiru said pushing her in the direction of the couch that was in the room.

"Did you ever..." Haruka asked not entirely sure how to finish that question with unknown company in the room.

Michiru shook her head. "Couldn't find the source. There's definitely someone here and we need to be on alert. I just couldn't pinpoint who."

"Well it was worth a shot." Haruka said letting out a sigh. It was a bit frustrating to know that someone from the Dark Kingdom was here and not know who it was. "How did you find her anyway?" Haruka said motioning back to Usagi. Who was currently sitting on the couch twiddling her thumbs.

"She was trying to get away from someone she saw in the lobby. She wandered into an area she shouldn't so I told security she was my guest." Michiru mused. She definitely had seemed taken back that she had wandered off into an off-limits area.

"Okay but what happened after that?" Haruka pressed. She knew Michiru, she didn't just step into every situation. Let alone invite someone back to the dressing room.

"Classmate of hers is here. Would cause a scene if they saw Usagi apparently." Michiru explained.

"Scene as in?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow.

"She didn't clarify, and I didn't ask. Something tells me it wouldn't be pleasant." Michiru admitted rubbing her forehead slightly. Michiru said glancing back at where Usagi was still seated. Probably a natural instinct to protect one of their own.

"That's the warning to get to the stage." Haruka noted after a moment as the lights dimmed for a moment. Turning to the pig tailed blonde. "We need to get to the stage so unless you want to miss the concert you should leave with us. You probably should be okay to go get a seat without running into anyone."

"Thanks for letting me stay." Usagi said as they stepped back out into the hall. It might not have been much but at least she had avoided Yuki.

"You going to be okay?" Haruka asked as they turned to go the different directions. Usagi back to the lobby and the concert hall seating. Them to the stage.

"I'll be fine. I got rather good at avoiding her at school. Can't be any worse here." Usagi said with a shrug. Okay it might be a bit more difficult here, but that didn't change the fact that as long as she limited her time in the crowd Yuki would hopefully not spot her.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Naru asked as she slipped in next to her back in the concert hall.

"I got cornered by security guards again. Michiru was kind enough to let me stay back in her and Haruka's room when I explained why I was back there." Usagi explained quietly.

"You actually told them about Yuki?" Naru asked an eyebrow shooting up in surprise. This was really unlike Usagi.

"Not exactly. I just said I was avoiding a classmate I was was having issue. I didn't give her details." Usagi said shaking her head. She didn't think she would ever feel comfortable talking about what had happened between her and Yuki with complete strangers. Any more discussion of the situation was cut off by an unexpected arrival. It would seem the Dark Kingdom didn't have much in the way of patience today, not if the fact that a youma showing up out of nowhere threateningly asking for some sort of CD was to go by anyway. All that had done was make everyone rush for the exit except the pianist in question who was being blocked in.

"Naru?" she turned to her friend they were getting pushed around slightly by.

"I'm fine. Might have some bruises in the morning though." Naru assured her. "So, what is that? It looks like some weird vampire." Naru asked as they looked back at the stage where the youma is.

"That's still not the weirdest looking one I've seen." Usagi muttered to herself.

"I would ask what you mean by that but I'm not sure I want to know." Naru said while her expression indicated her imagination was hard at work with imagining stranger than they were seeing for a moment before continuing. "Anyways you better transform while its still sidetracked."

"Right! Moon Prism-" she started (seeing as the auditorium had seemed to have emptied and the youma was distracted) only to cut herself off in surprise when a yellow ball of energy slammed into the youma stopping it in its tracks.

"Um what is that?" Usagi said frowning in confusion as two new people took the stage. Luna had implied that she was the only Sailor Senshi in Tokyo. The sudden appearance of these two suggested just the opposite.

"Looks like someone woke up and didn't inform Luna." Naru commented.

"Yeah I can see that and you should be getting out of here before the youma realizes it has more targets." Usagi pointed out to her friend.

"You still need to transform..." Naru pointed out clearly not wanting to leave her friend without knowing she'd be able to defend herself against the youma.

"Yeah I know. The problem is that maybe easier said then done." Usagi frowned. She couldn't really exit the auditorium, if she did the security was definitely going to stop her from going back in. Heck she was surprised they hadn't shown up yet.

"Just try to find somewhere a bit more discrete. You don't need to necessarily leave the area. Try not to transform where they can see you. I'd hate to see what would happen if whoever tells those things what to do saw that." Naru commented.

"That may very well be impossible but I'll try, now get out of here." Responded Usagi.

Finding an area under the seats Usagi was able to transform in a slightly uncomfortable space before climbing out several seats away and hoping no camera's were present and no one could figure anything out.

* * *

"Moon Tiara Action!" Taking an opening that she spotted to throw the tiara at the youma, breathing a sigh of relief when the youma started to turn to dust. That had gone easier then the last time at the pet shop. Well except for finding a transformation spot, that had taken way too long in her opinion.

"Uh er hi?" Sailor Moon said noticing the two new girls hadn't run off yet. That was a positive right?

"Who are you?" Uranus, she thought that was what the girl had introduced her as, asked earning an elbow from Neptune possibly if she was piecing what little she remembered of the Moon Kingdom together correctly.

"Oh right um I'm Sailor Moon. I'm not big into the whole introductions things before targeting the youma thus why I didn't." Sailor Moon confessed scratching the back of her head. She hadn't done a proper intro speech since her first night on the job. So the thought of doing one now hadn't really occurred to her honestly. Having Luna would have been great right about now, ah well nothing she could do about it now. She began to approach the stage the two were still on. If they were going to have a conversation might as well not have it over a distance.

"I wasn't aware any other senshi were awake other then that Sailor V over in England," Neptune said frowning slightly. Considering how Jadeite liked to go on rants when his plans had gotten foiled she would have thought she would have heard of the newest senshi. But he certainly hadn't brought Moon up the last time they had had a run in with them.

"I hadn't heard of you either. But to answer your question, Luna she's my guardian…adviser? I'm honestly not sure what to call her but anyway she's the one that awoke me as a senshi. I haven't been doing this for very long so that's probably why you haven't heard of me." Sailor Moon confessed trying to explain Luna's role and somehow not sound too nervous about it. Uranus and Neptune didn't seem completely comfortable with the situation but then again neither was she. Out of potential ways to meet her teammates this wasn't the best one. Sure she had made the comment to Luna that a youma attack would be useful but she hadn't really meant it in retrospect.

"That's definitely different from what went down with us." Sailor Moon heard Uranus mutter only raising her curiosity more on how these two were awake and yet Luna had been unaware. Luna had mentioned another guardian when they had talked before. But it sounded like these two hadn't been approached by either of them. So just how had they woke up she wondered? A mystery for later she guessed.

"So why no intro speech?" Neptune asked raising an eyebrow apparently deciding to move away from the topic of how she woke up.

"I kind of feel like it makes me a standing target. Why do you guys give an intro speech every time before attacking?" Sailor Moon asked genuinely curious. Well they hadn't this time at least but who knew if that was the norm. It still seemed an odd choice to make to her no matter how much Luna argued that it was apparently tradition when confronting an enemy.

"We will sometimes attack then introduce depending on the situation but no usually we don't lead off with the speeches if we give them at all during the fight." Uranus explained. Oh, that actually wasn't a horrible idea, she still wasn't big on the whole intro way. But if they attacked first then they at least got the element of surprise in. Though it was nice to hear that she wasn't the only person that didn't like to give intros right off the bat.

"Actually what usually happens is a youma taunts you and then you insist on giving the speech," Sailor Moon could hear Neptune mutter.

"So if you have an adviser why are you here by yourself?" Neptune asked changing the topic. Deciding if they hadn't seen Luna by now this Luna must not be here.

"I kind of snuck in here without telling her where I was going." Sailor Moon confessed after a moments hesitation.

"Snuck in-your the blonde from before the concert!" Uranus exclaimed turning to Neptune. "I told you she looked familiar."

"Still haven't heard much about you. Even if you haven't heard much about you in any way." Neptune frowned slightly speaking up some as she started to approach the stage. Chosing to ignore Uranus' comment for the moment.

"As I said I'm new. Luna just found me two weeks ago. This was the fourth youma I've seen actually." Sailor Moon admitted.

"That explains why we haven't heard Jadeite ranting about you yet." Uranus commented.

"Jadeite?" Sailor Moon asked confused. That was a name she hadn't encountered yet.

"Short blond haired guy wears a grey uniform has a temper and a tendency to rant when his plots are messed up? Shows up sometimes with the youmas?" Uranus asking raising an eyebrow.

"Again this was my fourth youma. The ones I've run into so far have been on there own." Explained Sailor Moon.

"You must not be on their radar yet." Neptune explained. Well she wasn't sure how to take that particular comment though that did raise another question since these two were apparently on the Dark Kingdom's radar.

"I guess not, just how long have you guys been at it?" Sailor Moon asked curious. She knew Venus had been at it for a while from the way Luna talked and she had heard some rumblings of her. But these two had seemed to have been awake for a while if there intro was anything to go by but she hadn't heard any rumblings of them being around.

"I woke up back in September of last year. I found Uranus in early November and she awoke shortly after." Neptune's explanation. So four months for her then and two for Uranus.

"Just surprised. Even before I was Sailor Moon I had heard of Venus but this is the first I've heard of you two." she said.

"We've been trying to keep a lower profile for the most part. So far its been working Jadeite only really picked up on us being a threat within the last month. Venus hasn't really been trying to hide herself over in England so thus the difference." Uranus explained.

"That actually makes a lot of sense." Sailor Moon said thoughtfully more to herself than the other two. "You know its getting kind of late. I know I have school tomorrow, I'm assuming you guys do too. Maybe we should continue this elsewhere?" Moon said after a slight pause trying to draw the conversation to a close before they fully went off about Venus. Really they weren't doing much at this point, just standing around talking. Something they could easily do that tomorrow. While it wasn't so much that she wasn't enjoying getting to know these new people, she was. It was just she wanted to get home, study, and try to get to bed at a decent time with a test the next time. If it hadn't been that they had such a limited time window to work with she probably would have tried to wait until tomorrow.

Finding a scrap piece of paper in the bag she had been carrying and scratching down her phone number, "That's my cell number. Give me a call tomorrow after school and we can arrange getting together."

Neptune took the offered scrap tearing it slightly and taking the offered pen and writing her number down before handing it back. She took the offered scrap and then the two disappeared in a flash of speed it looked like.

"They're fast." Sailor Moon said raising an eyebrow slightly. That was an interesting trick they had done to get away. She would have to ask Luna about it later that night. Speaking of Luna she was not looking forward to getting an earful from the cat.

* * *

"How did it go?" Naru asked as she exited the concert hall and back into the crowd. Quickly finding her red head friend. It had taken a minute to find an exit that would hopefully not send the security after her for the third time that night. Twice was enough as is.

"Okay I guess. I wish I had Luna with me a bit. But who would have guessed that this was the way I would find others." Usagi admitted. On the one hand it was probably a good thing they didn't have her since having a cat would have probably made the whole incident at the start of the night much more difficult. On the other hand it would have made dealing with the issue of meeting the other sesnhi easier at least.

"It's definitely an interesting way to find them." Naru agreed with a mischievious smile. A concert hall sure wouldn't have been her first pick for find Usagi's teammates. Then again Luna had been kind of vague on what to look for with her teammates so it shouldn't have been too surprise when you started to think about it.

"We're going back to your place now?" Usagi asked shifting slightly. It seemed the youma attack had brought the concert to an abrupt halt. With no sign of it continuing any time soon. Plus she was tired from everything else. She knew Naru had come to see that jazz artist but honestly she just wanted to get back to Osa-P at this point.

"Yeah no reason to stick around." Naru agreed. "Let's get home before it gets too late and we get in trouble with Mom."

Looking back she probably should have realized that getting out of there with Yuki hanging would be far from easy, but with everything else that had happened she had nearly forgotten about her. She had enough to think about. Particularly surrounding the other Senshi. So that's why she might not have been on as high alert as usual like she would be when dealing when knowing Yuki and her friends were close by.

Someone brushed against her causing her to lose her footing as she took a step forward and onto a patch of black ice and slip causing her to fall hitting her head on the pavement in the process. Dazed for a moment her hand reaching up for the spot she had hit her head on. She let out a hiss as her hand touched a sore spot. Yep that was going to hurt for a while. Naru looked at her in concern as she put her hand down. "Are you okay?"

"My head hurts. What about you?" Usagi asked. Naru had come down with her. Admittedly she didn't think her friend had hit her head.

"Am I okay? You're the one that hit your head!" Naru said a bit exasperated. Sure, she had come down on the ice. But the worst she would probably have in the morning was a sore butt since she had hit her butt not her head. Usagi had flat out hit her head in the fall.

"Sorry." Usagi said a bit sheepishly.

"Don't apologise!" Naru said as Usagi easily imagined flames surrounding her form. Naru had clearly gotten fed up with the appologies. She was working on it but sometimes they slipped out.

"What do you think the odds are it wasn't Yuki." Usagi asked after a moment. Not that she couldn't pinpoint it for certain especially if Naru hadn't seen it. The likelihood Yuki wasn't somehow involved seemed fairly low.

"Close to none." Naru muttered giving her own agreement to the probable cause. "She probably knows we can't prove it here."

"Of course, she knows that." Usagi said with a slight snort.

"Usagi?" Usagi blinked in surprise turning her head in the direction of the voice. Surprised to see Michiru again. Michiru took one look at the duo still on the ground and asked. "What happened?"

"Michiru, I didn't expect to see you again." Usagi noted in surprise dodging the question with a smile at the kind woman. She would have thought they would have been dealing with the aftermath of the youma attack, not mingling with the masses.

"She slipped on a patch of ice." Naru piped up answering the question Usagi had avoided. "Hit her head."

Usagi let out sight hiss as Michiru reached out touching the more tender spot on her head. Almost missing the bracelet that was tucked under Michiru's jacket. That looked suspiciously like the henshin bracelets Luna had described to her once. Michiru noticing her gaze gave a small nod in confirmation. Meaning she knew who she was in uniform.

It made some sense that they knew since Uranus's comment made it sound like she knew just who she was earlier. They probably hadn't brought it up since they were still in uniform. Guess they had come back to check on her? That was actually kind of sweet. She wasn't entirely sure why they hadn't just told her flat out that they knew who she was. "Going to have a nice bump there, it looks like. It doesn't look too bad but I would still be worried about a concussion though. Might be best to have someone actually look at it."

"I've had a concussion before. I know what to look for if I start presenting I'll go to a doctor." Usagi assured her. The incident before the winter holidays had made her a bit too familiar with what the symptoms of a concussion could look like.

"I am not sure if that assures me or not." Michiru muttered. Usagi's familiarity with what to expect from a concussion could suggest a variety of things. Nothing that made her exactly happy. At the best it was just a side effect from being Sailor Moon. At the worst it meant that there was something going on that wasn't quiet right. Maybe something to go back to the classmate Usagi had been mentioning earlier.

"What happened?" Haruka asked emerging from the crowd to the small gathered group.

"Fell on some ice." Usagi said with a slight shrug. She chose to ignore Naru's grumbling at the moment. She didn't know how these two would handle the suggestion of her possibly getting pushed. And she really didn't feel like going down that particular discussion route at the moment. "'ll be fine."

"Do you need to see a doctor?" Haruka asked concerned.

"She had experience with concussions and thinks that she is alright." Michiru said.

"Really? Just how many concussions have you had?" Haruka asked shooting a surprised look at Usagi.

"Just a rather severe one back in December." Usagi admitted.

"You and ice don't really mix do you?" Michiru noted.

"Nope." Usagi confirmed. Well that was true even if ice hadn't been the reason behind the last accident. She wasn't going to correct that because she wasn't in the mood to have a rather long conversation about her history with Yuki and Yuki's friends.

"Do you two need a ride back to your places?" Haruka asked after a moment of awkward silence. When her and Michiru had decided to offer a ride home they really hadn't planned for the red head still being there. But it seemed like they probably wouldn't be able to shake the red head to have a more in private talk. So might as well save it for another time. And possibly get on the side of what might be a protective friend.

"I'm spending the night at Naru's." Usagi confessed. "We go to school together. So we spend a lot of time at each other's places, usually studying with finals coming up so if you drop me off with her I'm good."

"We're still going to need to know where your actually located to meet you later." Michiru noted frowning. If they were going to get together sometime soon this wasn't exactly information that could be avoided.

"Because of the apartment situation Luna can't live with me...so she stay's at Naru's. We'd be meeting at Naru's." Usagi confessed scratching her cheek sheepishly. Normally she would have rubbed the back of her head. But that would hurt quiet a bit at this point.

"That can't be easy." Michiru noted frowning. It definitely made for an interesting situation. It also suggested that Naru must have knowledge of just what Usagi was involved in. Even if they were particularly close that still meant probably more time together then normal.

"We make do." Usagi said after a moment.

* * *

"This is the place." Naru said as they pulled up in front of the Osa-P.

Luna darted out from somewhere near the shop ready to scold the two for taking off whereever they had been. Before freezing realizing that Usagi and Naru weren't alone. She hadn't considered the fact that they might bring back company. Usagi scooped her up. "Hey Luna."

Michiru raised an eyebrow. "You didn't mention she was a cat." It explained quite a few things, including the fact, she couldn't live with Usagi. Probably Usagi's residence didn't allow pets.

"I wasn't sure how to mention that." Usagi admitted rubbing the back of her head choosing to ignore the look Luna was giving her. Having realized that Usagi had told someone about who she was. Wincing slightly as she went over the sore spot. Admitting that Luna was a cat for all intents and purpose wasn't exactly something you could just drop in everyday conversation.

"Are you sure your all right?" Haruka asked having noticed the slight wince.

"Yeah I probably won't even feel it in the morning." Usagi said waving off the concern. Considering how quickly her head had stopped bothering her from the last incident after becoming Sailor Moon. And this was mild when compared to it she was sure she would be good to go the next day. "Thanks for the ride. Send me a text wheneve you get back to your place so we can arrange a meeting." Usagi admitted shifting Luna in nervousness. The idea of working with other teenagers still made her nervous. Though now that she was around two other senshi she found it a bit easier to consider.

"We'll send a message about a proper meeting later." Michiru assured her. Waving one last time before her and Haruka pulled away headed back to wherever they lived.

"Where were you two?" Luna demanded as soon as they were back in Osa-P and back in Naru's room. Where they could talk without prying ears.

"I wanted to go to a concert about twenty minutes away from here." Naru admitted no way to deny where they had been when Luna had all ready caught them.

"There was a youma attack at the concert so it wasn't a bad thing we went." Usagi jumped in trying to prevent a lecture she could see Luna was just ready to let loose.

"A youma?" Luna asked in surprise. It wasn't so much she didn't believe Usagi it was just more. This also would mean it would be Usagi's first time handling a youma on her own. Prior she had always had her and that Tuxedo Kamen character on a previous occasion. "Do you know what the youma was after?"

"Was demanding some sort of CD it sounded like. We were in the back of the hall so I couldn't hear her very well." Usagi admitted making a face. She had been too far away from the action to really hear what the fuss was about.

"Possibly a brainwashing device." Luna concluded making a face. Okay maybe she wasn't the happiest about them getting into some antics. But it hadn't been for nothing so she wasn't going to be as angry with them. "I do wonder why you mentioned me to the two that gave you the ride? What was the deal with those two anyway? I'm assuming there is a reason you mentioned me." Luna said trying to keep herself from dropping into a scolding tone until she knew exactly why Usagi had told them about her. She would have thought she would have pressed the importance of secret identities to her enough for her to understand why mentioning her wouldn't be the smartest idea.

"That was Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune." Usagi said. It hadn't been brought up outside since who knew who could possibly overhear them. She would have thought Luna would realize that she wouldn't tell just anyone about her.

She hadn't even considered that as the reason behind Usagi mentioning her to someone. Of course, Usagi would have mentioned her to fellow senshi. "Did they awaken in the fight?" Luna asked trying to get a handle on the situation. She wasn't even sure why she was asking since as far as she knew her and Artemis were the only way senshi could awaken.

Usagi shook her head. "Michiru, Neptune, said she awoke back in September. She said Haruka, Uranus, awoke back in November. So, they've both been active for a while. They were on the scene before I could find a place to transform."

Luna sat down on her haunches frowning slightly. Naru raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"Its just that I was under the impression that the only way a Senshi could awake was through myself or Artemis. If there is another way then this may present some challenges in finding them. The enemy could even find them before we do and try to take them out before you can become a team." Luna frowned. That was an interesting circumstance. Venus had awoken in September also but she had been hard to miss. These two on the other hand hadn't shown up on either her or Artemis' radar. It showed a difference it attitude between the Senshi. Venus had always been hard to miss, being the sort of person and senshi to command attention. So she was well known even now, despite Artemis asking her to tone things down. These two hadn't surfaced at all and they had been unaware of their status as awakened until tonight. This brought up a concern. Were there other senshi walking around Luna wasn't aware of?

End Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah that's a wrap for chapter 4.
> 
> And that's a wrap for now. See you soon with chapter 5!


	5. Idol Mishaps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey so I might have slightly over reacted last time out about the beta thing. Whoops. Anyways everything’s been sorted out so we’re back on track.
> 
> Not much else to say. Thanks again to Tsukikageki for betaing. Please read and review. And enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5  
Idol Mishaps

"You really are insistent on keeping this from them for now aren't you?" Luna asked from her spot on the bed. It was a couple of days after the whole concert incident and she was finally meeting Uranus and Neptune at her apartment for the first time at Naru's house. Of course, that meant she was trying to stuff any evidence of her legs into the closet or any other spare spot in the room where they wouldn't be seen. Thankfully there wasn't too much since she was at Naru's and not her place. But she was being extra careful. She had dressed carefully to try and conceal the prosthetics but she still wasn't sure it would be enough.

Originally it had seemed like the older girls had almost wanted to meet somewhere more neutral the first time. Which she kind of understood to an extent, they were practically strangers at this point. Luna, however, had shot that down very quickly pointing out that in public too many would be able to possibly overhear their conversation. So being in public meant they would have to considerably cull the conversation. So that's how really the three of them had found themselves meeting at Naru's place versus the first suggestion of a park.

"Of course." Usagi said as if it were a no-brainer while putting away the last thing. Briefly pausing to do a mental catalog in case she missed something. Turning back to Luna as she realized she still didn't understand the situation Usagi decided to elaborate. "It's not that I don't trust them as team mates. I do for the most part. So far anyway. It's just after everything that's happened I have trust issues with my more personal aspects."

"That's kind of contradictory Usagi." Luna pointed out.

Shrugging Usagi responded. "Just give it time. I am sure they will prove to deserve the trust in my heart. Just let me learn to trust them with more than a feeling from a past life. If it is anything I have learned, it is that people don't handle my legs well. I don't want them to think less of me because I am not whole."

"They might not be pleased with your decision in the long run you do realize that?" Luna stated more than asked with an accepting sigh.

Usagi twiddled her thumbs slightly before nodding. "And that scares me but showing them my legs is bigger. If we really are supposed to be able to work together as well as you've been saying then it should all end up being fine though right?" The last part was asked like a hopeful plea and a nervous attempt at a smile.

"It will be fine Usagi." Luna insisted giving her nervous charge's hand a slight headbutt in encouragement. Luna did seem to at least try to understand and for that Usagi was grateful though she doubted this would be the last time this would come up. The girls were scheduled to arrive any minute and to say she was nervous was an understatement. Naru was keeping a look out in case she didn't get the equipment she had at Naru's put away in time. She was the delay to make sure they didn't see. Both Usagi and Naru had taken steps to cover up Usagi's lack of legs but she was worried they would somehow figure it out with the obvious clues missing.

"You ready Usagi? They are coming." Naru said from the window. Usagi just nodded her head determined.

A knock sounded after a moment.

"Coming!" Naru called out before going to get the door while Usagi picked herself up from the bed with a grim determination. "Well. Here goes nothing."

"It will be fine. You'll see. Just take a deep breath, relax, and be yourself." Was Luna's encouragement.

"I hope your right." was all she said.

* * *

"So I remember you from the concert but not from much else." Haruka commented frowning slightly at Naru as they got settled.

"Just a normal girl." Naru explained indicating herself at Haruka's look.

"I am a horrible liar and the two of us have known each other since we were little. She figured it out the first time I became Sailor Moon to save her and her mom from some youma. It worked out for the best to be honest. The apartment I live in with my parents doesn't allow pets. Naru keeps Luna and I come over for study/Senshi talking sessions." Usagi summarized with a shrug. Sure it wasn't the most convenient but it did work.

"So wait how did you become Sailor Moon to begin with? You mentioned Luna here followed you home back at the concert but didn't exactly elaborate." Haruka.

"It began when Luna followed me home after school." Usagi started, "Luna initially found me when I tripped over her on the way to class one morning last month when I was running late and I guess I somehow grabbed her attention because that evening she came home with me."

"Wait so you literally brought your own guardian home." Haruka asked raising an eyebrow.

Usagi shook her head in the negative. "She actually followed me home and I didn't notice it until I was all the way back here. We really can't keep a pet right now. At the time I was rather stubborn about it so I asked Mom if she could stay the night. If I hadn't begged Mom to let her spend the night we might not be here having this conversation right now. The rest is history so to speak. What about the two of you? Michiru I remember you saying you woke up in September when we first met. How did that happen since you didn't exactly have Luna around?" She was curious how their story went.

"There really isn't that much of a story. What happened essentially was I ran into a youma and that triggered my bracelet appearing for some reason. From there I transformed and took care of it." Michiru said holding up the wrist with the bracelet in question.

"I used to run track before I became Sailor Uranus. Back when I was on the team an old friendly rival of mine introduced the two of us. We didn't get along at first, personality clash. By the time I awoke as Uranus we were still having issues but they were starting to smooth out, sort of similar story though youma appearance and triggered the bracelet materialization." Haruka explained.

"Wait I thought you both went to Mugen Gaken?" Naru piped in. If they had met via a mutual friend from a rival school then that made it sound like they went elsewhere.

"We didn't always go to Mugen Gaken. We both transferred there shortly after the start of winter break." Michru explained.

Both Usagi and Naru nodded in understanding. That certainly explained it. Michiru added. "We transfered under one of Mugen's specialty programs. It's actually been a positive experience so far." Seeming to realize something. "You seem interested. Usagi?"

"Yeah I was at one point, I'm waitlisted at the moment for one of their programs but the story I got from them made it sound like its highly unlikely that my name will ever see the light of day. I've settled into the local Middle School." Usagi confessed being careful to not actually mention which program she was intersted in.

"I wonder if I could pull some strings and see if we could get you off the wait list. Wouldn't hurt to have all of us at the same place." Michiru seemed to be thinking out loud at the moment.

"I don't want to be any trouble. I'm alright waiting." Usagi said waving her hands slightly. Most likely if either of them started digging into this they would find out about just why she was applying for Mugen Gaken. A conversation that she definitely not ready for yet. Even if actually meeting them outside of Senshi duties was making her more comfortable she wasn't at that point yet.

"Michiru's family is pretty high society. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to get you moved off the waitlist actually." Haruka said glancing at the other girl.

"It's fine." Usagi tried to assure them maybe when she was feeling more comfortable with them she might consider it. Right now though everything was far too fresh and besides her switching this late in the school year wouldn't have much impact.

* * *

“So that’s the contest everyone’s been talking about at school.” Usagi said late one afternoon a few days later. She was taking a short break from studying to eat and the tv was on in the background playing an ad for a contest that it seemed was sweeping the entire school. She was getting together every few days to get to know the other girls better but today wasn’t one of the get together days so she was left to study on her own.

“Contest?” Luna asked coming up from behind her. Naru was acting weird and essentially kicked the cat out of the house for the day and Luna had managed to somehow sneak into the apartment. She still wasn’t really sure how the cat had pulled that one off.

“Yeah some popular idol lady is hosting some big thing looking for the next ‘Cinderella star’. It’s open to anyone and everyone so of course apparently everyone is taking a shot trying to win it.” she said with a shrug turning back to her school work.

“I wonder if its another Dark Kingdom plot.” Luna commented frowning as the tv ad finished.

"Maybe. Luna what haven't they done to gather energy?” Usagi asked frowning at her school book.

“Oh,” Luna paused for a moment, “Well they haven’t been awake very long truth be told so the list of plots they have used isn’t very long. Venus seemed to keep running into idol related plots when she was first starting out though so it's something they have done before.”

“So this might be them then. Can't catch a break can we?” Usagi frowned slightly thinking again about her classmates. Arguably with the amount of weird stuff happening right now you could almost argue that anything weird was almost normal at this point.

“Have you noticed something peculiar at your school?” Luna asked.

“Yeah actually it seems everyone at school is behaving a bit nuts over this idol contest. Not sure if that is Dark Kindgom or idol contests in general though. People go crazy for idol contests.” Usagi confessed.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked frowning slightly.

“Well let’s see Umino apparently was trying to perfect his magic trick rather then study, which for him is unheard of. Naru got into an argument with one of the other girls in our class over who had the better idea. Naru! Of all people.” She said thumping down on her bed. Naru was pretty mild mannered for the most part. So for her to get worked up over something, especially a contest wasn’t that common.

“What about the others?” Luna prodded.

“Luna we’ve been over this before. The only person in my class I’m remotely close too is Naru and you saw yourself how she was behaving today. I know Umino kind of but I’m not sure if I would call him a friend or an acquaintance. Everyone else could do a 180 personality wise I wouldn’t be the wiser just because I don’t really know them.” Usagi pointed out.

“Okay ignoring the fact you don’t know your classmates behavior were they showing any obsession over the contest?” Luna asked.

“Yeah but the whole school was except for maybe a scattered few and most of the teachers.” Usagi confessed.

“I thought you said your teacher was obsessing over it too though.” Luna frowned.

“Our teacher is a bit unique. Her wanting to do the contest isn’t that big of a surprise honestly.” She said after a moment. It wasn’t a huge surprise that the woman had taken an interest in the contest. The lady had to be somewhere in her 30s and yet seemed to be constantly wanting to be returning to being a teenager.

“Maybe we should check it out.” Luna suggested. “Do you know when the final selection rounds are?”

“Naru mentioned that they are supposed to be sometime this weekend but I missed the actual day. I’ll ask her tomorrow.” She assured the cat.

“Good I’ll look into seeing if I can pinpoint anything that can define it definitely or not as a Dark Kingdom plot.” Luna said leaving the room headed for who knows where.

* * *

“Usagi? I didn’t know you were participating in the contest.” Came the surprised voice of Michiru. She had come to the concert hall, in the end, more to support Naru than to check for yet another Dark Kingdom plot. But she hadn’t expected to run into her two new teammates considering she realized now that the two of them had forgot to tell them about this. 

“Oh hi Michiru, didn’t know you were here. I’m not in the contest. I am here to cheer Naru on. What are you doing here?” Usagi asked shifting the focus away from the fact that she was here at all.

“Haruka and I are additional judges.” Michiru’s face remained neutral but something about her tone said she wasn’t happy about having to be here.

“Huh. Didn’t think that would be something you two would want to do.” Usagi said a bit surprised. She hadn’t known either girl very long but at least with Michiru, she thought she had more refined tastes and a pop idol contest would be the last thing she would want to do. At least it seemed that way based on that one concert.

“Not our choice really. Our agent insisted on it, saying it would get us more bookings.” Michiru explained.

“Ah.” That explained the situation better. Well maybe. She wasn’t sure how idol things equated into more classical stuff but she wasn’t an idol agent or whatever it was that those two had hired.

“So your friend Naru is participating in the show?” Michiru asked shifting topics.

“Yeah, you met her that night. Naru decided she wanted to do this contest so I came along to watch. Plus Luna thinks this might be another Dark Kingdom cover since some of the competitors have been acting a bit odd. You pick up on anything while you were helping with the judging?” she added.

“No, but we weren’t involved in the judging of the preliminary rounds either.” Michiru admitted seeming to be thinking about something after a slight pause she frowned asking. “If you two had thought you had found a plot why didn’t you contact us?”

Usagi cringed admitting. “Sorry. With everything going on I forgot."

Michiru gave a handwave. “It happens. Just try not to make a habit of it.”

“Not planning too.” she said.

“So Luna thinks this might be a Dark Kingdom plot?” Michiru asked, “Have to admit that would be a first for us. Though the way they are drawing in so many people does fit the model of a Dark Kingdom plot.”

She shrugged, “Yeah this is my first experience with this kind of a plot. But Luna says she's seen it somewhere before. It seems like we've seen them use more than one tactic to target people. So I guess it could be more than some sort of potential idol contest. Have you noticed anything unusual with the people your working with?”

Michiru shook her head no. "But then we don't know them well so I am not sure we would notice. I’ll see if Haruka has picked up anything. We’ll contact you if we see anything suspicious.” was Michiru’s response.

“Thanks. I should probably get going to the hall if I want to get a seat before Naru performs.” she said.

“Be careful. If this is a youma plot they won’t have much longer to put their actual plan into action probably.” Michiru noted.

“I will. See you after the show?” she asked getting an affirmative she headed towards the auditorium they were supposed to be showing in.

* * *

“Sooo, Haruka and Michiru are here. Good thing too since apparently, neither of us remembered to tell them about what we were planning to do today.” Usagi said speaking low enough that Luna should still hear her but that she wouldn’t draw suspicion from any audience members. After she had slipped away from Michiru she had headed back to the audience figuring that would be the easiest place to find Luna again. Thankfully she was right on target finding the cat hanging out towards the back of the auditorium.

“You should have called them the minute I told you this might be a Dark Kingdom plot.” Luna hissed.

“Remembering to tell my new teammates about the possible Dark Kingdom plot was the last thing on my mind.” Usagi nearly snapped. Her bigger concern had been whether or not Naru was at the center of yet another youma plot. That caused Luna to cringe slightly. Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh. Taking a deep calming breath she spoke again, “Why didn't you call them or remind me to call them anyway?"

“I’ll admit some responsibility in this situation but in the future, both of us have to be more on top of these kinds of situations.” Sighed Luna.

“We have got to figure out a better way to keep up with this stuff between us.” Usagi commented more to herself than to Luna. It wasn’t that the cell phones weren’t great, they were. It was just she sometimes forgot to use them apparently.

“I’m working on it but I don’t have anything concrete yet.” Luna confessed.

“Well, that’s a start at least.” Usagi said with a shrug of her shoulders, patience was finally being rewarded as the youma was finally revealing itself. “So what are we going to do about ugly and blue over there?”

“I'll find the others. Transform.” Luna said slinking off in search of Haruka and Michiru.

“Right, find a discreet place to transform. I swear that is getting more and more difficult every time we run into a new youma.” Usagi grumbled out her complaint under her breath.

* * *

She should have waited for the others really she should have but when the youma made her move she couldn’t hold back anymore. Naru was one of her few remaining friends she just couldn’t stand around and let her become any more of a victim of the Dark Kingdom.

That would almost to be Sailor Moon's downfall. Apparently, this youma was capable of spewing a hard glass-like substance that it attempted to encase her in. Her vision was going dark if someone didn’t come soon she was going to apparently die here. Thankfully help finally did arrive and the glass like substance was broken just in time allowing her body to fall like a limp doll.

“Sailor Moon are you all right?” Sailor Moon heard a familiar voice. She was slightly relieved to hear the two older girls finally arrive straightening up some. That Tuxedo Mask character she remembered from the fortune teller’s was busy distracting the youma for them so she was able to gather herself before speaking.

“I’m fine, a bit shaken, but fine.” Sailor Moon admitted giving them a slight smile as she picked herself up back to standing.

“Apologies we were being held up in another audition room.” Sailor Neptune said coming up on her other side.

“Who is the Tuxedo guy?” Sailor Uranus asked eyeing Tuxedo Mask with some suspicion.

“He’s on our side, he’s helped me before get out of a couple of tight spots.” Trying to get the older girl to stand down.

“Not sure how much throwing roses helps.” Sailor Uranus muttered.

“Distraction, he's been providing a distraction. Plus I love your guys' help but I’m not sure how well you could have got me out of that glass case the youma tried to seal me in.” Sailor Moon pointed out. He had freed her and saved her life, again, after all.

“Touche.” Sailor Uranus conceded.

“Any idea's?” Usagi asked turning her attention back to the youma who seemed to be debating at the moment on whether or not to go after them or Tuxedo Mask who was now somewhere up in the rafters. Well, that at least took him out of range their attacks if they made a move.

Sailor's Uranus and Neptune exchanged glances before Sailor Neptune spoke up, “We might have an idea. I am going to hit it from my right you aim your tiara for the left while Uranus aims an attack up the center. Worst case scenario one of them should hit it and do the job or we might have to launch another attack best case it can’t decide which direction to dodge and gets hit by all three.”

"Right.” Sailor Moon said removing her tiara.

“Now! Spiral Buster!” Sailor Uranus said her attack.

“Splash Edge!” Sailor Neptune said surprising her by shooting up another attack up the  
middle.

“Moon Tiara Action!” Sailor Moon said releasing the tiara in the opposite action. She let out a sigh of relief when the tiara hit and disintegrated the youma. One last trouble to deal with.

“We should probably get going. People will wake.” Sailor Neptune said speaking up. They left the stage area and found a private area and dehenshined.

After a moment Haruka turned on Usagi. "What were you thinking?!" Michiru set her hand on Haruka's shoulder. A calming presence. "I couldn't wait anymore. Naru wouldn't have made it if I had. I don't have many people left." She didn't elaborate but the wind senshi seemed to let out a resigned sigh.

Haruka said after a slight pause, “I just wish you had waited for us to engage the youma.”

“Sorry.” Usagi apologized shifting slightly not making eye contact with either girl. In retrospect, it was a stupid move to pull but she'd do it again if it meant keeping Naru safe.

Haruka said after a moment of silence running her hands through her hair. “Just be more careful in the future.”

“Today was a mess.” Michiru said breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

“It's been a mess ever since I became Sailor Moon. Maybe before that.” Usagi admitted. Finals were right around the corner so things would get calmer on a school front soon at least. But for now, the craziness level was going to be through the roof.

Haruka frowned slightly at that, “Everything okay?”

“It’s just school.” Usagi evasively attempted to reassure.  This week's whole thing with the idol contest hadn't exactly helped with the already stressful situation. Combine that with fast approaching finals and her stress levels seemed to be at an all-time high. 

Haruka and Michiru exchanged glances frowning before Michiru asked, “Are you sure that you don’t want an assist getting into Mugen Gaken?”

“I appreciate the offer on some level but I think I’m okay staying at Juuban for now.” Usagi confessed shifting slightly. The offer was tempting and probably would become even more so as the end of the semester came steaming in. She would need to make her decision sooner or later on how much her fear that caused her to hide her issues was worth losing school time. Maybe…maybe telling them during the school break wouldn’t be a bad idea if it meant she could get out of Juuban.

End Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Not much to say really. Please read and review.
> 
> Nothing else to add. They do brighten my day even if they are short. I’ll see you on the 19th!


	6. Good Timing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I have no idea how the ending AN ended up where the opening AN was supposed to be. But I finally saw it and fixed it. Anyways enjoy chapter 6.

Chapter 6  
Good Timing

"How cute!" Usagi exclaimed one afternoon. It had been a couple of days since the idol contest and nothing new had happened other than watching the contest runners scramble to try and fix the mess left in the wake of the youma plot. Today was a rare off day for all the girls. Haruka and Michiru had after school activities back at their school, Mugen Gaken. And since they couldn't really do much now that wouldn't disrupting the other girls plans Luna had left them off the hook for once and so Usagi and Naru had hit the mall. Right now they were perusing a new clock shop selling some cute clocks. They kept in mind Luna's warnings about any new shops. But honestly, they didn't have to go into every shop expecting for an enemy to pop out, did they? Usagi sure hoped not because otherwise, her life was going to take a whole new level of complicated. And she did not need that.

"Aren't glad I dragged you here?" Naru chirped.

"Yeah I guess. Though I am not sure I can afford any of them." Usagi admitted pulling her wallet out check how much yen she had. She had used most of her allowance up on going to the arcade the other day. Plus she had bought a few things already.

"Oh Usagi..." Naru said with a knowing look on her face as she knew Usagi well enough to know the big three Usagi generally blew her allowance on. Sweets, Manga, and of course the Arcade though even Naru could admit she blew much of hers at the arcade as well. She just set enough aside for other things before doing so.

"The Sailor V game is really fun though." Usagi defended herself. She took another look at the cute clock. "Ah well, maybe another time."

"It's alright Usagi. Maybe set some aside next time." Naru said giving her arm a tug. Usagi turned away from the clock before following Naru off in the direction of more shops.

* * *

The first indication that something wasn't right coming the following morning. Usagi's Mom insisted on getting her up well ahead of the alarm and pushed her out the door an hour before the last bell. Not that she wanted to be late (though really, she hadn't been late much since she had moved to Tokyo) but this was a bit extreme. As she walked to school she noticed that apparently her Mom wasn't the only person feeling rushed judging by the amount of people going about everything at a run.

She ended up finding Naru at school (they normally met and walked part of the way but when she had swung by the shop since she was running early Naru's Mom had said she had already left). "Naru! There you are! How are you doing? Please tell me you have Luna with you."

"Mom shoved me out the door really early this morning. "Naru yawned before continuing. "Luna was still sleeping when I left. For now it is just us I guess." Naru said after a second trying to ignore the pacing of their teacher as they waited for the rest of their classmates.

"Yours too? Mom insisted on me getting up at 6:00 and having me out the door by 7:00. She insisted that if I didn't leave then I would be late for class." Usagi said scratching the back of her head. Well, there went her idea of asking Luna if the weird get up and rush mentality was a side effect of a youma spell.

"Yeah, mine did too. I probably should have called your house to see if you had been pushed out like me. It's so weird. I've never seen anything like today. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to do something or get somewhere a lot more than usual." Naru said.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. Maybe the enemy is moving again?" Usagi commented from her position her voice dropping a couple of octaves when she brought up the Dark Kingdom. Though the way their classmates were acting she could probably have been yelling from the rooftops and none of them would have noticed what she was saying.

Naru was saved from responding to that comment by their teacher slamming her bag onto the desk. Both girls exchanged glances before shrugging in confusion. The teacher maybe an okay teacher but she did have her odd moments so they were used to her doing odd stuff by now. However, as Usagi watched her pile stuff into her bag appearing to be preparing to leave she had to say this was one of the oddest things she had seen the teacher do.

Finally, when it appeared that she had gotten everything together she turned to the class and said, "Since it appears that most of your classmates don't know the definition of timeliness I am going to let you study on your own. Goodbye."

With the last word, she walked out of the room. Most of their classmates took it as their cue to pack their stuff up and leave as Usagi and Naru exchanged glances in confusion. This was definitely a first. Naru was the first to speak after that odd scene. "Find Luna?"

Usagi nodded her head starting to put her own things together before agreeing. "Find Luna."

* * *

Usagi split off from Naru early on heading back to the shopping center from the day before to wait for the others and Luna. It shouldn't take them too long for them to show up. Naturally, because her luck sucked big hairy biscuits like that, she managed to find trouble in that rather short period of time. Rather, trouble walked straight up to her like a predator hunts a helpless bunny rabbit.

"Well, well. If it isn't the school whore." Usagi froze at a voice that had haunted her dreams for months on end, startled, and turned to face the person behind her. She hadn't heard him or his buddies since the school had forced them to leave Juuban. She had been hoping she would never see them again.

"Aito." Usagi said fighting to keep the fearful tremble out of her voice and hide the trembling of her hands at running into one of  _them_. Aito and his friends ranked only just below Yuki as people who had made her situation at Juuban a living hell. They only ranked below her due to the fact that there had been only one incident involving them versus the multiple occasions she had dealt with Yuki.

The more Usagi tried to look around the more she realized she was trapped with him, no one else around the mall that she could see. She was in one of her worst nightmares again with no apparent way out of it. She attempted to grab her phone out to call someone and alert them but just as her fingers grasped the plastic of her device Aito grabbed a fistful of her shirt saying almost into her ear. "I am going to enjoy your screams as much as I did the first-time little whore and this time I am going to leave you where everyone can see with so much cum dripping out of you that you won't be able to hide from it this time. If your nice I might even let you live to feel the humiliation." Usagi's voice was lost on her as she struggled to form the vocals to scream for help.

"Get off of her." Usagi had never been so happy to hear Haruka's voice. She hadn't even realized the others had arrived. She was just glad they had as good timing as they had.

"Or what?" Aito said turning his head away from her and the direction of the new arrivals loosening his grip on her shirt slightly. Haruka decided to take a swing at Aito when he didn't fully take her 'suggestion'. Haruka and Michiru might have arrived only after whatever the situation was had started. But she had seen the clear panic and fear written all over Usagi's face. The advances were clearly unwanted and Haruka wasn't going to let the situation continue. She'd castrate him first.

The fist coming at his throat got Aito to release Usagi as he moved to dodge it. Usagi took the opening to scramble as far away from him as possible ending up with Michiru's arms around her trembling form. He hadn't had a chance to do anything this time but if they hadn't-

Michiru gave her a concerned look for a moment before looking up to the boy not quite dodging Haruka. "I recommend you leave." Michiru said with a hard voice etched with cold towards the boy. There was no room to interpret her 'recommendation' as anything but command. Aito seemed to hesitate for a moment longer considering before clearly deciding to take off. As his steps echoed slightly off towards the other end of the mall, only then did Usagi let out a sigh of relief.

"You alright?" Haruka asked turning her full attention to Usagi. It looked like they had gotten there before anything could happen but Usagi was visibly shaking. Her dainty fingers wrapped around her purse strings sported knuckles a white that made Haruka wonder if her palms would be bleeding when she finally unscrunched her fingers. If there was nothing, then she wouldn't be having such a reaction so there was obviously at least some sort of history between the two. Maybe an ex? Haruka had no clue. All she really knew was the guy was bad news and Usagi was shaking like a leaf in absolute terror of the boy. Even without what they had seen here, he clearly needed to be kept far away from Usagi.

"I'm fine." Usagi said trying to wave off the concern with what was clearly meant to be a smile, but really ended up a strained grimace. They had gotten there before anything could happen, so all was good except for getting shaken by seeing Aito again. She just didn't want to have to explain why Aito shook her so much or what his appearance brought back. She hadn't seen Aito or the other two in months. Not since the school had forced them to transfer out.

"You're shaking." Michiru said voicing what she knew Haruka was thinking before continuing. "Come on, let's take Usagi home and maybe we can pick up some sweets on the way." Sweets... Usagi's weakness.

Usagi thought about it for a moment, starring longingly at the food court and milkshakes but not quite feeling like remaining where she'd so recently run into Aito. What if she ran into him again? She couldn't do it. She just couldn't. Haruka seemed to save the day right then. "It's getting time to go home anyway. Why don't we pick up takeout on the way home?" Usagi could only nod. Michiru seemed to also agree.

Not long later they were sitting back in Usagi's room, her mother having left the girls to it and brought some odango for them to share with their meal. The odango was long eaten and Haruka was playing with her salad, bowl held in lap and some dumplings sitting nearby while Michiru sat, legs curled, with her small plate eating her sashimi with a delicate grace only she seemed to be able to achieve. And Usagi? Well she hadn't felt like eating much but that strawberry cake was calling her name regardless of earlier upset. None of the girls seemed to want to broach the subject and every time Usagi tried she lost her appetite and started to cry.

Finally, Usagi spoke quietly. "Aito and the rest of his group transferred out about six ago. He was enlisted by Yuki, he and his friends." Usagi didn't wish to elaborate and both Michiru and Haruka seemed to understand, although Haruka seemed a bit intense. She decided to change subjects after a moment of silence, and so with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes she spoke. "Come on, let's eat this cake and then I'll show you where the youma shop is."

* * *

It hadn't taken long to get back to the mall where the suspected youma shop. Luna meeting up with them along the way.

"This seems kind of tame compared to the last few plots. At least on scale level, I guess. The Cinderella contest seemed to involve everyone in the Tokyo area." Sailor Uranus said frowning slightly tilting her head looking at the shop.

"My first youma plot involved a jewelry shop. So this isn't the first time I've dealt with a possible plot involving items that are sold to the public." Sailor Moon confessed.

"Not every plot of theirs is going to be over the top and exaggerated," Luna commented.

"Though it does seem like Jadeite's M.O." Sailor Neptune added.

Luna sighed tail swishing slightly in agitation. "It is possible that he is changing things up to try and throw us off track."

"If he is trying to throw us off track he should make the possible plot stand out less. Having everyone in Juuban running around makes it stand out more." Sailor Moon pointed out.

"True." Luna said with a slight shrug.

"No kidding." Sailor Uranus said.

"Regardless we need to dismantle this operation." Sailor Neptune asserted.

"So how are we going to get in we just can't exactly expect them to open the door for us if they are the enemy?" Sailor Moon commented and as if on queue a strange portal formed on the grated blocking the entrance to the shop. "Or I guess so."

"This has to be a trap." Sailor Neptune said frowning

"An obvious one." Sailor Uranus agreed.

"If we walk away we leave an ongoing youma plot however if we move forward we are walking into a trap." Sailor Moon said frowning slightly. "But we can't let this go on either..." Sailor Moon frowned shaking her head slightly. If it was left to linger who knows what could happen. The longest lasting plot that she knew of was the one at Naru's shop. And from what she could tell she had gotten to it before the youma had really put into action.

"It's definitely a trap and you shouldn't go in but..." Luna confessed after a moment. First instinct was to take care of the threat, however, to walk into a blatant trap appeared to be asking for trouble. A threat in of itself to her team and to the one she suspects may even be the princess. Above any mission the princess's safety was to be put above all else and walking into traps was not aligned with 'safety'. Even so... they could not let this be either. What to do...

Another silence fell and no one moved from in front of the shop door. After a brief moment Sailor Moon made up her mind, with or without the others she was going after the youma. Was it trap? Yes but leaving a plot untouched raised too many concerns about possible developments if it was allowed to run rampant. So she made the first step towards the portal ignoring the protests of the others breaking into a run. They could come or they could stay behind this wouldn't be the first youma she had faced alone if the need arose.

"So you three fell into my trap." The youma's greeting echoed cockily once she had cleared the portal.

"It was a very obvious one." Sailor Moon heard Sailor Uranus grumble under her breath. She let out a breath she hadn't even known she had been holding. So they had followed her through the portal now.

"I shall defeat you and gain Queen Beryl's favor!" The youma proclaimed. "Let's make a game. if you can properly find me. Then you can fight me. Otherwise, you will be trapped in here forever." The youma vanished into thin air before any of them could protest against the idea leaving a swirling portal on the ground.

"What were you thinking?!" Sailor Uranus rounded on Sailor Moon angrily now that the youma had vanished they had a brief moment to themselves.

"I just don't want to see anyone else die. I…I lost someone close to me a couple of years ago. I am scared if these plots are allowed to drag on someone will die from them." Sailor Moon admitted through tears. Shingo's death would forever haunt her. The fact that maybe if she had just been a bit more careful or tried a bit harder he might still harder would forever hang over her. She couldn't. Wouldn't let anyone else die due to her lack of action.

"Usagi you can't save everyone you know that right?" Sailor Uranus asked gently. Apparently the comment about losing someone had at least softened her anger towards Sailor Moon.

"I will save everyone I can and do everything I can to save them." Sailor Moon said squaring her shoulders and bracing for the anger or the calls of foolishness.

Sailor Neptune, the ever calming presence asserted herself. "We are here. We should take care of things as they are. We can discuss things later if we need to."

* * *

Stepping through the portal had been sort of surreal. Whatever they had been expecting, this definitely wasn't it. As the girls looked around at their strange surroundings they saw most of the area was a blueish green in colors with distorted clocks floating around and what looked like the longest line of doors she had ever seen in her life.

"Are we supposed to open all of these?" Sailor Moon frowned.

"That seems to be the idea." Sailor Neptune agreed.

It was going to take forever to find the youma though if they didn't get lucky. And god knows how time worked in this weird place so they could end up being in here for a short period compared to the outside world or they could be in here until the end of time.

"Michiru you seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to these things can you maybe pick up where the youma is actually hiding?" Sailor Uranus asked.

Sailor Moon frowned slightly. This was something that hadn't come up before. Then again this was only the third youma plot that the three had taken on together. And the last two they had kind of just met where the youma was not trying to find where it was. Still you would have thought that something like this would have come up during one of the afternoons they had spent together so far. But then again considering she was hiding stuff she really couldn't talk.

Sailor Neptune frowned for a moment seeming to be concentrating on something before shaking her head, "Too much interference. It feels like the youma is everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time

"Well let's start opening doors then." Sailor Uranus said opening a door on her right hand side. At first seeing nothing Sailor Moon decided to step in the door opened before them to see if she could if the youma was in there. Once she stepped in an odd effect kicked in, it seemed that she was shrinking?

"Sailor Moon!" She heard Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune yell grabbing a hold of her and pulling her back towards the doorway. She let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding as she felt whatever had occurred reverse itself and return to normal.

"Are you all right?" Sailor Neptune asked looking her over. Sailor Uranus growled in frustration. "I have had about enough of this place."

"I'm fine. Honestly, it was just a really weird sensation." Sailor Moon reassured her rubbing her hand over her arm avoiding eye contact. She hadn't meant to cause trouble, but it seemed like whenever she was with them she found it accidentally.

"Why did you step into the room anyway?" Sailor Neptune asked slightly scolding her.

"I was trying to see if the youma was maybe further into the room." Sailor Moon explained with a shrug. How was she supposed to know she was going to suddenly de-age if she actually walked into a room?

"Well, no one is going to be stepping through doorways unless we see the youma from here on out." Sailor Uranus finally stated.

"Sorry I didn't mean to cause trouble." Sailor Moon said looking at the ground.

Sailor Uranus let out a sigh running a hand through her hair while Sailor Neptune comforted "You seem to have a tendency to end up in situations."

"Sorry." Sailor Moon meekly said knowing the comment was also referring to the idol contest after a slight pause. "So what now? We're kind of at an impasse right now. We could just try and open every door but that would take who knows how long."

"Not unless you have some idea or ability you haven't mentioned." Sailor Neptune asked raising an eyebrow.

"The only closest thing I've not mentioned was accidentally seeing through the guise a youma had on once the day I became Sailor Moon, and I'm not honestly sure if that was just a fluke event." Sailor Moon admitted. She hadn't been able to do anything like that since then so she had her doubts that it was an actual ability she possessed.

"Maybe I can be of assistance?" Asked a new voice causing all three to jump and Sailor Uranus to form a ball of energy in her right hand in response to the possible threat. She faltered a little seeing the new arrival was bearing a similar senshi garb.

"Who are you?" Sailor Moon asked.

"My apologies. I am Sailor Pluto senshi of time and space. This youma is messing with a function of time. It is my duty to deal with it." Sailor Pluto explained.

"She is actually speeding up time?" Uranus asked frowning at the thought thinking back to what they had seen outside the shop.

"This youma is messing with the body's internal clock. This Youma is also a very strong illusionist. Makes a person believe that time is actually passing quicker then it is. Thus giving a person the need to rush and burn energy at the same time. I am the guardian of time. I would rather her not grow powerful enough to effect time on a wide scale." Was Pluto's explanation.

"Wait there are creatures out there that  _can_  mess with the flow of time on a large scale?" Uranus asked skeptically.

"A very small number but yes there have been a few throughout known history that have been capable of performing such a task." The newly named Pluto admitted with some reluctance.

"Okay, that is a creepy thought. Beryl and her minions can't do that can they?," Sailor Moon piped up having kept quiet during most of the explanation. An enemy that could actually mess with the time stream just screamed big bad problem.

"No Sailor Moon. There is no one working in the Dark Kingdom, thankfully, with that kind of power." Pluto reassured her.

Sailor Moon pondered over the thought that it seemed almost like the older senshi was refraining from calling her by a different name. It was a bit odd but she wasn't going to press the subject. If the new addition wanted to have secrets, fine. She couldn't really hold it against her without being a hypocrite considering she still hadn't told the others about her legs. As long as whatever she was refraining from mentioning wasn't dangerous she could keep whatever secrets that she was apparently holding at the moment.

"So how do we defeat someone that messes with our sense of time?" Sailor Moon asked frowning slightly deciding not to ponder on Pluto's speech patterns for now. That would be something to try and figure out at a later time when they weren't facing down a youma.

"Its a bit difficult but it can be done. We need to figure out what her weak point." Sestuna explained as she began to lead the way.

"Do you have any idea where we are supposed to be going or are we just following the path down the hallway?" Sailor Uranus asked frowning slightly as they followed her.

"Again. I am the senshi of space and time. I can find where the youma is." Was the response given.

The other girls exchanged glances for a second before Sailor Moon followed behind first with a slight shrug of the shoulders, Neptune after and the Uranus reluctantly following. "I'm not so sure about this." she heard Sailor Uranus mutter before following behind her.

"What do we have honestly to lose at this point?" Sailor Moon asked turning back to face the older girl for a moment voicing her own thoughts, "We know nothing about the realm we're in. We were essentially flying blind and the senshi who has domain over the realm has offered to help. At this point we don't know how to get back out of where we came from."

"I still don't like blindly trusting her though." Haruka said as she followed the green haired senshi following after Sailor Moon.

"Well, we're not exactly blindly trusting her. We all seem to have our own issues with this situation but Uranus, unless you want to be stuck here until the end of time we are going to give her the benefit of the doubt." Sailor Moon stated hoping to end the argument here and there.

She heard Uranus grumble some more but didn't voice anything else after that. She got it, she really did about the worries of trusting someone that was a complete stranger here in a foreign realm. But at this point they needed to put their trust in her or else they may be stuck here until the end of time.

After that, a silence descended over the group. Apparently, Pluto wasn't really the talkative type choosing to just lead them to their enemy then go into many other details. Maybe that was part of the point though, keep her realm delved in secret and suspense. Really it didn't matter in the end she realized, as long as they got to the youma and eventually got out of whatever this weird place was.

"She should be through here." Pluto said opening one of the doors on the right-hand side of the hall. Moon frowned for a moment glancing down the hall and then back at the door. As far as she could tell there was no way to distinguish them from the hundreds of other doors. But who was she to argue with the senshi of time and space over a time-related matter?

She frowned once they were into the room. As far as she could see there was no sign of the youma that was causing all this trouble. She then noticed a lilac ball not that much different in shape and general composition than the one that Haruka and Michiru used for their attack beginning to form around the staff that Pluto carried. Okay if she was powering up for an attack that hopefully meant the youma was nearby but where? Before she got a question Sailor Pluto on what she was doing Sailor Pluto aimed the ball in what appeared to be a random direction saying, "Dimension Dance."

That brought the youma crashing down in front of them though she didn't quiet understand how that was physically possible. Never mind that, was the youma actually squinting at them now? That was a new reaction she hadn't seen before. Before she could process this strange new reaction it spoke. "Who in the world are you and how did you get here?"

"I am Sailor Pluto senshi of time and space. Your interference with time is forbidden." Pluto's calm response.

Sailor Uranus, having decided to take advantage of the fact that Pluto was providing a distraction, powered up her own attack while it appeared the youma tried to make heads or tails of the new addition. "Spiral Buster!"

This knocked the youma back a distance but didn't destroy it. Deciding against giving the youma enough to time to collect itself, Sailor Moon reached up removing her tiara, aimed it at the youma, and unleashed. "Moon Tiara Action!

That did the trick, thankfully, turning the youma to dust. She breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Sailor Pluto smiling, "Thank you for your help."

Sailor Neptune frowned thoughtfully looking around. "How do we get out of here."

For some reason or another whatever weird pocket dimension that had formed still hadn't dissipated so Pluto from there lead them out of the area and within moments they found themselves back in front of the shop. From there she excused herself saying she had other things to take care of.

"Who was that?" Luna asked coming up to them now that Pluto had left for parts unknown. With no way to contact her either now that she thought about it, that was a bit annoying. Though she guessed if she really had such domain over space-time she probably could tell when they would need help next time. Maybe, hopefully.

"Sailor Pluto. She showed up helped us track down the youma." Sailor Moon said glancing back at the facade of the clock shop. Come to think of it what happened to these places once the youma plots were done? She had never gone back to investigate after a fight of one of the former pop up shops so she really didn't know. Maybe one day on her down days she would go check out. She briefly noticed that a strange look came over Luna's face momentarily but chose not to push it. If the cat wanted to keep stuff from her for the time being so be it. It would probably all come to a head eventually anyway.

End Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap for this week! Hope everyone enjoyed chapter 6. Please remember to leave a review. Chapter 7 will be up on Feb 2nd.


	7. The Scariest Place On Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Welcome to Chapter 7 everyone. Nothing much to say this week. Just please to review or leave a comment at the end. Even short little things lets me know people are enjoying it and makes me excited to post the next chapter.
> 
> Thanks again to tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> And enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 7

The Scariest Place On Earth

"What's got the class all in a fuss this time?" Usagi wondered. Most of her classmates were hovering over some iPad it appeared that one of the students had reading something. It had been a day or so since the clock shop incident and while there had been some oddities to sort out in the aftermath most things had settled back to normal already. So she knew whatever it was probably wasn’t related to that.

"A rather large group of people have gone missing from Dreamland over the last week and it's been all over the news." Naru explained as she took her seat having heard Usagi.

"Really?" Usagi asked frowning slightly mouthing 'plot?' to which Naru shrugged. Dreamland was a fairly major theme park on the northern more rural side of Tokyo. It was no Tokyo Disney, but it was supposed to be pretty fun. Not that she had had a chance yet to see for herself what the park was like.

"Yeah surprised you hadn't heard about it before now." Naru said frowning slightly. She knew Usagi had been pretty busy but this wasn’t exactly something you could miss normally.

"I've been really busy the last few weeks." Usagi said making a face. She had been so focused on training, getting to know Haruka and Michiru, and school that she hadn't been tracking the news outside of the tidbits she occasionally heard. Now that she thought about it was a bad idea since tracking the youma plots might be easier if she paid attention to the latest news.

"That is true. With the girls and everything else." Naru agreed.

"I probably should pay attention to the news." Usagi said frowning slightly. If the news could give potential leads to a Dark Kingdom plot then it looked like that was going to be added to her long list of things she had to do.

"It might be a one-off thing, heck it might not even be them. Don't get too worried about the news." Naru suggested.

" _Still it probably wouldn't hurt to listen to it occasionally."_ Usagi thought. Further discussion about the news as a source for finding trouble was cut off at Ms. Haruna's arrival.

* * *

 

 She decided to bring it up the next time the three of them got together. They had picked the local arcade that she went to on an irregular basis as a chance of pace and scenery. The place was still a bit empty with it being not long after school got out. Right now they were near a racing game that Haruka had taken to playing.

"I don't know. It could be just someone randomly kidnapping the theme parks. Not everything that gets picked up by the news is going to be the Dark Kingdom. Also, if it is them then they must be getting a bit more desperate. This is a complete reversal of their normal tactics they don't usually do a scheme that will draw this much attention that easily to them." Haruka said frowning slightly looking over slightly from the game screen.

"That's not completely true. Remember the incident with the buses near that shrine" Michiru pointed out. Most of the time the Dark Kingdom tried to keep on the down lo. However they had engaged in a plot that was very hard to miss.

"Shrine incident?" Usagi asked frowning slightly. She didn't remember anything quite like that but if it had been before she became Sailor Moon it would have been before she paid attention to the weird news.

"That was about a month before we met. It was one of Jadeite's more hands-on plots and about the time he finally started to really notice us. He was literally stealing bus full of people to steal energy from. It was next to a local shrine that was drawing some attention from it for whatever reason. It took a while to put the pieces together and stop it but we eventually managed to pull it off." Michiru explained.

"Weird. I don't remember hearing too much about it." Usagi said frowning slightly. But then again a month before they met would put the incident sometime in December before she met Luna and became Sailor Moon. And come to think of it depending on the timing it wouldn’t have been to far from when she had ended up in the hospital from the fall. So her missing it may not be too much of a stretch. Still disappearing busses should be hard to miss normally.

"It got some press but not nearly as much as this." Haruka added.

"That makes sense I guess." Usagi admitted. Though it was still interesting how she had completely missed it.

"It wouldn't hurt to check out Dreamland." Michiru admitted after some thought. It maybe a dead end but if it wasn’t they would be leaving others to danger by not having looked into it.

"Besides even if it isn't it would be kind of neat to finally see Dreamland." Usagi admitted. This would be her first trip to the park if they went up there.

Michiru hmmmed slightly at that. "It would definitely be a different experience. I've never been to Dreamland myself I must admit."

"Wait you two have never been to Dreamland?" Haruka asked surprise evidence turning to face them fully having finished the game.

"You know how my family is Haruka." Michiru pointed out. This kind of thing was considered beneath them. 

"Oh yeah." Haruka scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "Usagi, what about you?"

"I'm originally from a small town to the north of here. I've only been in Tokyo for the last year or so I haven't had a chance to check out the different theme parks unfortunately. I went to one or two back home but nothing like Dreamland." Usagi admitted. It was on her things of to do but things had always seemed too busy to put together a trip to the parks that lay on the outskirts of the Tokyo prefectures.

"Well if it turns out to be nothing it could still be a fun experience to go as a group." Haruka said grinning slightly.

"That is true." Usagi would have to be careful around some rides if it turned into just a fun day. But it would be a nice change of pace from just sitting around talking or in this case playing games.

"All right so should we meet up there on Saturday? Or do you want us to give you a ride?" Haruka asked. She had forgotten the older girl apparently had a foreign driver's license and could drive.

"If it's not too much trouble I would appreciate the ride." The thought of navigating the busy Tokyo subways on a Saturday morning was not appealing to Usagi at the moment.

"Nah it's on the way." Haruka said.

"Dreamland is expected to open at nine and closes around seven this time of year. It would probably be best to be at the park at opening if this is an actual plot by the Dark Kingdom. Giving it takes about an hour or two to get there from here we should probably pick you up sometime around 7." Michiru said interrupting the back and forth while looking up the needed info on her own phone.

That was a bit early and it meant one of the longest days Usagi had had in a long time but it would be worth it she reasoned she was just going to have to be careful. She would probably have to pack some anti chaffing stuff and make a few bathroom stops to apply it to get through the day but it should work as long as she was careful. So she said, "That should be good."

* * *

 

 "This place is huge!" Usagi exclaimed looking around. They had managed to make park opening even with Saturday morning traffic so the place wasn't too crowded yet so it made it feel like it was all the more massive with it fairly empty.

"Eh it's not as big as the Tokyo Disney parks." Haruka commented with a shrug. She wondered just how much the girl had been to theme parks since she seemed to have the most experience with them.

"Yeah but I've never been to one of those before. The only theme parks I've been to were all small local parks not far from my hometown before I moved here." Usagi admitted. There weren't many theme parks where she used to live, but there had been a couple all fairly tiny when compared to the expanse of this place.

"So this must be a bit overwhelming then." Michiru commented apparently she was handling the massive size of the park a lot better then she was.

"Yeah it kind of is.” Usagi admitted after a moment. “There is so much to do. How in the world are we going to find a possible Dark Kingdom plot in a place like this?" Usagi asked.

"We might have to split up." Luna said frowning slightly looking at the map over Usagi's shoulder. There were so many places they had to eliminate as possible plots...

Michiru frowned looking over Usagi’s shoulder at the map slightly shaking her head, "You might be over thinking it. If the Dark Kingdom is kidnapping people to drain, their energy. They’re probably not going to want to move them once they've started the job if we go by the bus incident. But they are going to need somewhere large and able to attract people. So, we'll be looking at some sort of indoor attraction. There's a fairly small number of those when compared to the outdoor attractions. Unless a show starts at the same time or something of that nature there shouldn't be a need to split up."

"So that takes our places down to investigate down from 20 something to nine I think no wait five." Usagi said scanning over the list of attractions. Some of them were listed as indoor attractions but were proper rides. If Michiru was right they would be looking pretty much looking exclusively at the indoor shows. That narrowed down what they needed to check out significantly. Maybe if things went okay maybe they would have time for some normal park stuff if this didn't pan out as a youma plot.

"Judging by show length and start times we might still have a problem of overlapping attractions though. We will just have to see how the day progresses." Luna piped in.

"Was that cat just talking?" Usagi heard someone ask causing all four to freeze. They had apparently been so engrossed in their planning none of them had heard someone come up behind them.

"Don't be silly." Usagi said turning to face the new speaker only to stop in surprise. It was that guy she had met the day she had first become Sailor Moon again. She swore she was running into this guy everywhere, the fortune teller house, the arcade (well that wasn't really much since he was apparently friends with the guy who helped run the arcade but still), here.

"Well, well, if it isn't odango otama. I sure seem to see you doing anything and everything these days." Came the reply.

"The same could be said to you." Usagi retorted. She still disliked him using the nickname but he couldn't seem to take a hint that she wanted him to drop it.

"Yeah well unlike you, I actually have a job here. You just seem to go to the strangest places Odango Otama." He said lowering his sunglasses to get a better look at her. Now that she was looking closer it appeared that he was working some sort of security job at the park. He was certainly looking the part.

She blew out air partly in frustration, "I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times now. Don't call me that!"

"Whatever odango. See you around. Try not to cause too much trouble." He teased wandering off.

"Just who was that?" Haruka asked breaking the silence. She hadn't realized until then that both girls had been quiet during the argument she had had with the guy. She should really get a name for him the next time they ran into each other, or at least a better nickname than 'that one guy'.

"Huh oh just some guy I met a few weeks ago. It feels like I'm running into him everywhere even though I'm really not. I can't stand him." Usagi admitted. The last time she had seen him was around that weird idol contest they had infiltrated and even then it had just been in passing. Though it was kind of funny now that she thought about it, she had seen him around a lot of the youma plots, not all of them, he had been missing from the clock shop incident and the pet shop but definitely a number of them. She hoped that really didn't seal the deal that this was a Dark Kingdom plot.

* * *

 

 Despite their best efforts to remain as a group it eventually did come to have to splitting up. Even with sticking to just the shows they had somehow reached an impasse where two shows were just too close to each other in timing for all four to go together.

Luna's ears twitched slightly, "I honestly don't like the idea of splitting up. There are too many unknown variables here."

"Yeah but unless we want to come back for another day." Which Usagi really wasn't in the mood for at the moment. Her first truly extended outing was starting to get to her. "We have to split up Luna."

"I know." Luna agreed with a displeased sigh.

"Even if this does turn into a youma plot it should be easy to realize." Michiru was the one that pointed out. Youma weren't exactly known for their tact when implementing the plot. If this was one, they should be able to identify it before it got out of hand and get ahead of it. At least in principle. 

"At least these are the last shows to eliminate. Not sure how many more of these I could sit through." Haruka confessed. Usagi kind of agreed. The first one had been neat to see but the second had kind of dragged on and she had been glad to get out of. She just hoped this one wasn't too bad.

"Just be careful." Luna pushed. Haruka and Michiru would be going off to one show and Luna would be tagging along to some show that was in the 'Candy Palace' just so she wasn't alone.

"I'll admit some hesitation over the decision to split up due to the fact that you might be the Lunarian heir." Luna confessed as they approached the building after they had split off from Haruka and Michiru.

"Luna just because I  _might_  be something doesn't mean we should base our decisions around that." Usagi argued shaking her head slightly.

"I know and I agree with you on. It's just a possibility." Luna confessed. And that possibility unnerved her. Princess Serenity was supposed to be protected. She couldn’t be protected if she needed to split off from her protectors. There was the possibility of Usagi not being Serenity. But even then she didn’t like the idea of Usagi going alone.

"We made the decision based on what we know  _now."_ Usagi tried to point out.

* * *

 

 "So far it seems fairly normal." Usagi commented looking around the wide room. Once the doors had opened to the show building they had been led into a large room filled to the brim with decorative and edible treats. The only odd thing she could see so far was a lack of seats but maybe that was style of show it was.

"Hmmm. I do agree that so far yes, but you know that can change quickly." Luna commented.

Any more conversation was cut off as a girl in a pink and blue dress stepped out introducing herself as the Dream Princess. She spoke briefly before telling them to enjoy the show before admitting some sort of odd looking pink mist. As the pink mist spread out the scenery changed replacing the room they had been in with what looked like a meadow outcrop surrounded by trees. It was beautiful but the sight wasn't her concern. What was was the fact that she had lost sight of what she was now was pretty sure was the youma and for that matter Luna the minute the illusion had gone up.

"Luna please tell me your still here." Usagi said under her breath. "Right next to your left ankle. Why, what did that mist do exactly?" She could hear Luna but when she looked in the direction of her voice she certainly couldn't see Luna.

"Cast some sort of illusion. I don't see the room anymore just trees, fields, and the people that were at the show." Usagi frowned slightly. "We need to get the others and quickly." She heard Luna comment.

"Yeah I know but you are going to have to be the one that does it. I am essentially blind thanks to this illusion, there's no way I can get out unnoticed without bumping into anything and everything. However, as long as you can get to Haruka and Michiru then they can at least take care of the youma this shouldn't be a problem for much longer. I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be." Usagi confessed as she started to feel tired.

"Usagi..." Luna sounded worried. Leaving her behind was far from the greatest idea but she was right. She was essentially blind in this situation and wouldn’t be able to make the journey out of here alone. Making the decision more difficult than it would normally have been.

"I'll be fine just go get the others." Usagi directed trying to wave off the cat before she lost the fight to stay awake. If she passed out before Luna left she had a feeling the cat would never leave. There was a slight pause before she heard the light pattering of feet indicating Luna finally leaving. Relieved that Luna was going off to get help she finally lost the battle to remain conscious.

* * *

 

 Meanwhile, Luna had managed to force her way out through the front doors and was making fast time in getting back to where they were supposed to meet back up with Haruka and Michiru. She let out a sigh of relief as she spotted Haruka first from a distance before skidding to a stop between the two.

"Y-youma!" Luna managed to get out trying to catch her breath, chest heaving, not caring who might over here her. That had been quite a sprint to get back from the Candy Palace to the meeting place but it couldn't be helped. Usagi should not be left alone in the hands on the enemy for very long. Taking a deep breath she continued. "There was an illusion specialist youma at the Candy Palace I was able to get out because the illusion didn't affect me but Usagi got caught in it."

Haruka swore lightly under her breath as Michiru paled slightly. If Usagi had been caught by the illusion she almost had certainly had at least some of her energy drained, which changed the whole dynamic of the situation. Changing the mission from a simple search and destroy mission to quiet possibly a rescue mission.

"Lead the way. We'll stop in a restroom or something and use it to transform." Michiru said taking charge for the moment.

* * *

 

 Luna frowned slightly as they reentered the so-called palace, this time with Haruka and Michiru in senshi garb. "This is different."

"What do you mean?" Neptune asked glancing down at the cat with a frown.

"It was more decorated when I came through with Usagi. I didn't sense any spells at the time. But I guess its possible there was a lower level illusion in place that I missed." Luna responded. She was kind of surprised that the illusion had slipped her senses. But she had been looking for a higher-level illusion you associated with youma not a low level one that had probably been in place. She was going to have to be more careful about her surroundings from here on out apparently. She couldn’t afford to make this kind of mistake a second time.

"I would say I'm sorry that our show is done for today, but I can see you're not here for the show." Came a new voice. Whirling around they were met with the same girl Luna and Usagi had seen at the start of the show. Before either had much of a chance to react though the youma let out a breath putting up an illusion around them.

"Same illusion?" Luna gathered from somewhere near their feet. That had looked like the same pink breath she had spied earlier before Usagi had gone under.

"Probably." Neptune agreed. There was no way to know for sure without Usagi speaking of which they needed to retrieve her and soon. It was impossible to know at this point if this was a youma who drained their victims slowly over time or quickly or one capable of both. If it was the later then they might be in trouble. Her and Uranus had been able to take down youma's own their own in the past but the youmas they had been taking down had been getting stronger. So Usagi not being at full fighting strength could complicate things. 

"What is with youmas and lunging?" Uranus complained as they side stepped the youma. It had tried to approach them once only to be met with Spiral Buster/Splash Edge combo. Apparently, it had decided to switch tactics. Though Neptune did wonder sometimes how good of a tactic lunging at a target who could use long range techniques did.

Neptune muttered under her breath as she dodged with her expression clearly of the mind that Haruka shouldn't be giving the youma ideas as the youma tried to launch an energy ball of sorts. Admittedly it was a legit question all things considered but it was also baiting fate to mix things up a bit by saying that.

"One of us needs to go get her. Even if she isn't in fighting condition we just can't leave her." Uranus said changing topics from youma's choice in attacks. It wasn't the ideal situation, but they needed to retrieve Usagi even if she might not be able to put up a fight after having her energy drained.

Neptune glanced over her shoulder for a second. The illusion was fairly strong and was still difficult to see through even with her senses, but she could see what looked like the end of it off in the distance. She would rather not leave Uranus, but Uranus did have a point. They needed to get Usagi. If she couldn't fight, then they would figure something out but neither of them were going to feel comfortable until they knew Usagi was out of the youma's grasp. Turning back to Uranus. "I can just see where the illusion ends. If you can keep her distracted for long enough I should be able to get her. Luna stick close to me I am going to use your footfalls to make sure I actually get out of this."

"Understood." Came Luna's response. It sounded like she was just behind her on the right.

"Be careful." Neptune said before turning to head towards what looked like the hallway they had been in.

"When am I not?" Haruka called back as Neptune took off running as fast as she could, thinking of every time Haruka hadn't been careful with herself or had gotten hurt protecting her. The faster she found Usagi and they got out of here, the better.

* * *

 

Usagi wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious for only that she was awoken by someone shaking her shoulder and Michiru calling her name. She blinked a few times sitting up a bit sluggishly noting that it was just Luna and Sailor Neptune, no Haruka/Sailor Uranus. Though that wasn't really the odd part. The odd part was the fact that while she was back in the room where it had all begun, the sweets were completely gone. Had those also been an illusion? She had a hard time wrapping her head around that since she had seen some kids eating what appeared to be donuts before the 'show' started.

"Are you all right Usagi?" Neptune asked looking openly concerned for the first time since she had met the two of them. Both girls for the most part seemed to keep a lid on their emotions, well unless you set one of them off. Which raised the question of just how bad did she look?

"I'm fine, a bit tired, but fine. Where's Haruka?" Usagi asked sitting up fully. Okay maybe a bit more than a little tired judging by that short dizzy spell but she could get through a fight with a youma, or at least she hoped so.

"Back in the hallway distracting the youma. She tried to cast the same illusion on us as the one you were put under I was able to see past it well enough to get by but Uranus doesn't have the same kind of abilities, so she remained." Sailor Neptune explained as she tried to scramble to her feet. Only to sway for a moment when another dizzy spell hit.

"Easy, was that first time having your energy drained?" Neptune asked looking sympathetic helping steady her for a second.

"I've always been able to get ahead of the plot before now to avoid the energy drain." Usagi admitted finally feeling well enough to stand on her own though she wasn't sure how well fighting would go. She could transform she was fairly certain of that. She just wasn't sure about summoning enough power to destroy the youma. She knew Haruka and Michiru were capable of destroying it on their own. How else would they have been able to beat the youmas they had encountered prior to her awakening otherwise? But she didn't really want to dump that kind of responsibility on them.

Sailor Neptune frowned slightly. "Are you up to transforming or do you need us to take care of the youma problem?" "I can transform." Usagi said waving the ocean senshi off though how long she might be able to hold it would be another question if she was this tired. "Moon Prism Power Make Up!"

As the henshin faded she turned to Sailor Neptune. "So where to?"

"As long as they haven't taken off somewhere Uranus and the youma should be back this way." Neptune said gesturing. Usagi really didn't want to think about the possibility of the two having moved. She wasn't sure if she could handle much wandering. "Lead the way." She said making a motion with her hand following Michiru what felt like blindly back from where she had come.

"Are you all right?" Sailor Uranus asked not breaking eye contact with the youma for the moment as they approached. "I'm all right…mostly." Sailor Moon amended when she saw the doubtful look she was getting from Neptune. "Just really tired. I feel like I could sleep for days."

"There's a third one of you?!" The youma shrieked in confusion causing them all to look at her, him, whatever the youma technically was. Right, she had somehow not got on the radar of their boss before she met Haruka/Uranus and Michiru/Neptune. There hadn't been anything so far to suggest that had changed at the last encounters with the youma either.

"Of course." Sailor Moon said with more confidence then she was honestly feeling at the moment. "I am Sailor Moon champion of love and justice. And for the disturbing the peace and fun for the attendants of this beautiful theme park I will punish you!" She thought she heard Uranus let an amused snort out but chose to ignore it for the moment. She couldn't help that she still felt the whole intro speech was weird. The other two were obviously more comfortable with it and had been coaching her on it during their down time. But it still felt kind of awkward and out of place to start spewing. Though this time it had worked out okay.

"Whatever, what's one more senshi going to do anyway? I am going to destroy all of you!" The youma shrieked lunging at Uranus causing all three to side step. Or rather Uranus and Neptune to side step and Uranus yanking her out of the youma's line of attack. Apparently, her reaction time was a bit slower than normal. 

"Thanks." Moon muttered. 

"Welcome. Are you sure your all right?" Uranus asked again.

"Yeah. As long as we take care of this youma quickly I should be fine." Moon assured her. 

"Don't dodge me!" The youma shrieked turning back to face them. Really?

"Like we aren't going to dodge." Sailor Moon heard Uranus mutter.

"I am going to need an assist beyond a distraction to take it down." Moon said keeping her voice down to try and keep from being overheard though how well that went was a good question since they had to scatter when the youma lunged yet again.

"Do you think you can time it so your tiara follows right behind one of our attacks?" Neptune suggested frowning slightly. "I think so." She said. She wasn't 100 percent sure how well her timing was going to be but she could at least try.

"All right when the youma lunges again we attack." Uranus suggested powering up a Spiral Buster. "Right." was the combined response as Moon removed her own tiara and Neptune took the moment to power up a Splash Edge.

"Spiral Buster!" Uranus released the attack as the youma began to lunge at them again.

"Splash Edge!" Neptune followed suit shortly after and Sailor Moon didn't wait much longer to release her tiara.

"MOON TIARA ACTION!"

What she hadn't anticipated was apparently the speed of the tiara matching or possibly exceeding the other attacks and combining with them. Odd circumstance but it did its job as it took out the youma turning it to a pile of dust.

Moon closed her eyes for a moment after the youma dissipated as she felt her legs go weak for a moment and start to fold as another dizzy spell hit. Thankfully one of the girls reached out and caught her before she went down completely. Opening her eyes again she saw it was Uranus. "Thank you."

She thought she saw a confused frown cross the older girl's face for a moment but dismissed it when nothing further was made of it. Neptune frowned again asking. "Are you sure your all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine I just was already a bit tired from the day out before the youma attack," Sailor Moon admitted with a bit of hesitation moving to stand again on her own. "So, when the youma drained me it just made things worse. Nothing a good night's sleep shouldn't fix."

"We should probably get out of here before security comes looking. Though we should tell someone about all the people in that room." Neptune commented as she went ahead and dehenshined and they followed suit. Usagi was grateful to have a reason to drop it since it had gotten to the point where holding the henshin would have been pushing it.

"Leave a note?" Usagi suggested they weren't out in the public that much as Senshi so approaching a security guard to basically say that they had found the missing people might not be the smartest idea even if one of them rehenshioned.

"Where though if this place is mostly self-run then probably not a lot of people come through here especially at this time of the day." Michiru pointed out frowning slightly again.

"On the front door that I came in through maybe? This might have been one of the last shows of the day but maintenance should still have to come by later to check everything out. Or they are supposed to anyway. If we leave them something to notify them hopefully they'll find the missing people." Usagi suggested. Though the fact that none of the park workers had found anything before was kind of weird…maybe they had been part of the group of people that had been vanishing?

End Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that’s a wrap for this week. Hope everyone enjoyed it. See you on the 16th for Chapter 8!


	8. Event Horizon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And welcome to Chapter 8! Also known as the conclusion to the Jadeite arc. Not really much to say here. Just hope everyone enjoys the chapter and please leave a review/comment. I delight in getting notifications.
> 
> Oh and before I forget since I’ve had at least a couple of people ask. Yes, I am planning to introduce the Inners as senshi, eventually. I say eventually because while it is planned and will happen its going to be a while before it happens. Remember I’m covering all five arcs of the anime. So some stuff is going to take a while to get to. That’s not to say they won’t be popping up occasionally before then. Just that them in their senshi form not in the immediate future. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 8

Event Horizon

It had been a few days since the fiasco at Dreamland. The park was receiving some backlash from the whole thing. But Usagi doubted it would hinder them in the long run.

Things had grown quiet in the meantime. The girls kept an eye out or any unusual news but so far nothing out of the ordinary had popped up yet. So the girls enjoyed the quiet for now.

However, the peace would come to a rather surprisingly abrupt end one evening. Usagi was spending the night over at Naru's house celebrating the end of the long school year and trying to keep her mind off of what the future would hold. She had thrown everything she had at the tests now it was just a waiting game.

Both girls were brought out of their study session by Luna's urgent calling. "Usagi! Come quickly."

Usagi frowned but came over to the windowsill where Luna was sitting. She was about to ask what was wrong when she saw a blond-haired guy appear in the sky. She frowned. Well, this was different and rather in your face. The Dark Kingdom seemed to be becoming less subtle and more blatant at every turn of the foot. She frowned when he spoke. "Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, you have messed with my plans for the last time. I challenge you to a fight tomorrow night at 1 am at Haneda airport. If you do not show up, the consequences will not be pretty for the city of Tokyo. I highly recommend you make your presence known tomorrow."

"How does he not know about me still?" Usagi muttered under her breath as he disappeared in a swirl of purple. Was he really that bad of a leader that he never talked to his youma to know it wasn't just Haruka and Michiru?

Luna shook her head. "That's a mystery within itself." A moment of silence passed between them as Luna appeared to be deep in thought as if trying to figure something out.

Usagi frowned before turning to a stunned silent Naru. "Naru. Can you get Skype up please? I want to see if Haruka and Michiru are up. We need to talk now." Usagi not being so great at computers and wanting to get it done quickly. Naru got up her laptop to check and after a moment shook her head. "Nothing on Skype."

"Even if they were asleep I doubt they missed that." Usagi thought taking out her phone and texting both senshi wondering why she didn't think of trying that to begin with. "Looks like we are going to have to scrap those plans we had Naru." She said regretfully.

"Figured as much. Hopefully, after everything is said and done we can have a giant slumber party and no weird evil guys will get in the way. Makes me really want to give them a piece of my mind." Naru said with narrowed eyes towards the spot the dark general disappeared with thinned lips and hand gestures to emphasize her point while speaking.

"It won't be that simple of just taking care of Jadeite and everything goes quiet. Even if we do take down Jadeite he isn't the only minion Queen Beryl has at her disposal. Most likely we will be just replacing him with a new threat." Luna said shaking her head. Usagi, grim-faced, glanced down as her phone buzzed with an incoming text. "They saw it. They are going." She looked out the window over the buildings and towards the direction of the airport biting her lip, worried for her fellow senshi and the obvious trap they were being invited into.

"It would probably be best if we got together a few hours before so we can strategize," Luna suggested. Naru nodded."That's probably a good idea but Usagi you're not going to be able to do it here. Mom's going to notice if they come over and you all three are suddenly gone.

Usagi nodded resolutely. "My place it is then." She said sending the text back with instructions. Her parents at least were aware of the situation so there wouldn't be any sneaking out of the building.

"We're going to have to figure out some way to get me back into your apartment building." Luna frowned. "We'll figure it out somehow." Usagi waved off the concern. She had got Luna in once before by accident so she could probably do it on purpose this time. "Haruka says that sounds like a plan and they'll see us tomorrow night."

"Good, now we need to get you two to bed. Usagi you have a late night tomorrow so you need as much sleep as you can get. Lights out girls." Luna with an authoritative tone before curling up on the pillow Naru had gotten for her.

Both Girls exchanged raised eyebrows. They were pretty wound up right now but Luna had a point. Usagi was going to have to just hope for the best as she settled into her sleeping bag. Now was not the time to be sleeping with an event on the horizon.

Naru reached over, not looking at all tired, and turned off the light. Both girls laid down, heads on pillows. Usagi stared at the ceiling, her mind far too busy, attempting to fall asleep with all the worries and what ifs bouncing around in her head. She could hear Naru attempting to get comfortable and listened as her friend relax her breathing to help herself fall asleep once she'd settled on a position.

When Naru's breathing evened out to being too soft for her to hear Usagi began to count the bumps in texture on the ceiling trying to stop from focusing on everything going on in her mind about events, past, present, and all the possibilities she could think of about. Would she fail these senshi like she failed her little brother the day of the tsunami? She really deserved to lose her legs didn't she? To never feel the sun on her skin? To never feel the sand between her toes? Grass cool against her ankles? To never be whole again both physically and in her heart? Yes, she decided. A small price to pay compared to the life of her baby brother. Fitting for her to suffer. Truly. She deserved it for not being strong enough to save her baby brother. How was she supposed to lead these girls if she couldn't even save Shingo? How was she supposed to protect a planet if she couldn't even protect him? Her own baby brother? Without realizing it, tears had formed in her eyes, pooling and falling down dampening her pillow as she stared straight up at the ceiling.

Eventually the trying day and the emotional exhaustion combined became too much and she curled into herself as much as she could, as if it could hide the shaking of her shoulders away from Naru's direction, to curl her shame into herself where it could not reach her friend who so did not deserve to carry it. Curling inwards where it could hurt no one else but herself, as she was clearly the only one who deserved to feel this pain for it was her failure that let her brother be swept away to die in the Tsunami. She starred, unseeing, at the wall, eyes stinging and tears flowing but not a sound would she make, as if it could numb her to physical pain in her chest where she was sure her heart had been ripped out. Where her heart was still, and forever, being ripped out.

Usagi did all of this oblivious to the worried eyes of Naru glued to herself.

* * *

"Why the busiest domestic airport in all of Japan though?" Usagi asked with a frown the next day. It seemed like she had spent forever explaining what she knew to Naru the previous night but eventually she had seemed to accept it. Eventually. A plane flew overhead catching her attention. Apparently, they hadn't been grounded. That could be bad. Hopefully, the airport would not be packed with people and planes taking off. This could be even worse for them if it was. All those people...

It was still a few hours until they had to be at the airport to confront Jadeite and the three girls and one talking cat were having what could be loosely called a 'planning' session. They were back at Usagi's place. Since they lived closer to the amusement park opposite the airport she assumed they lived nowhere near it and so her place would be the fasted one to travel from-to the airport. Haruka groused. "He obviously wanted to make an impression. Between the light show in the sky and the location, there was no way that we could have missed it. I doubt anyone else in Tokyo and the surrounding areas beyond it did either." A dark look overcame her face at the end. The message was clear. Like people who stopped to look at a car wreck, people were likely to try to come and see. This could be bad. It was clearly a thought all of them shared if the look on Michiru's face was anything to go by.

"You can make a statement without going all out like he just did. He could have just as easily sent a message through another youma. This is a trap." Usagi said shaking her head slightly. She  _honestly_  wasn't sure if she was ready for this. This wasn't a boss fight in a video game with multiple lives and no bystanders. One life, one chance, multiple people counting on her and one another. One slip up and one or all of them could die or worse, one of these two could end up like herself, missing limbs and it could end up being her fault. Haruka and Michiru might be ready for this, but she had only been at this for a few weeks in contrast to their few months. She wasn't ready for this and she felt the weight of just how not ready she was quite keenly.

"I wish we had a way of contacting that Pluto. Even if she has been inconsistent so far with helping us she has been a help. If Jadeite is bringing his  **A-Game** then we  **need**  any help we can get." Usagi said after a slight pause.

"We will be fine without her." Haruka said frowning slightly though Usagi had to wonder if she really even believed that herself. Still... "You might feel confident in that but I don't. You've been at it for what two, three months now, with Michiru being at it four to five and I'm over here with one month and have only seen the guy once. I don't know if he even realizes I exist. He only mentioned you two." Usagi spoke shaking her head slightly.

"That is true Usagi but it may not be a bad thing."-Thoughtfully-"As for Pluto, we don't know how to contact her or where to find her." Michiru pointed out.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll show up at the airport." Haruka said with a shrug. That was definitely a possibility considering how they had met her the first time.

"The better question is how do you three even get to the airport? I suspect that the government is going to have most ways in and out of the airport locked down fairly tight. Getting in and out is probably going to prove to be difficult." Luna said moving the topic away from the other Senshi of the team.

"That is a problem. I have a driver's license so we could technically drive to Haneda. And while they will probably be looking for people on public transport more then they will be on the roads there still might be checkpoints that might prove to be problematic." Haruka commented.

Usagi heard the doorbell ring in the background frowning slightly. She hadn't invited anyone else over and she didn't think her parents had either. Judging by the confused looks on Haruka and Michiru's faces they sure hadn't invited anyone either. So who was at the door and why were they showing up now?

"Usagi! You have a visitor!" her Mom called. Her frown deepened in confusion. Who would want to see her right now? "Don't look at me like that I didn't invite anyone over. I was supposed to have a sleepover all weekend with Naru but we canceled halfway through after all this happened." Usagi said at the looks both girls were giving her. Usagi turned to leave the room. "I better go see who this is."

"Ms. Sestuna?" Usagi asked frowning when she realized her psychiatrist of all people was here. She sure as heck hadn't scheduled an appointment tonight and if she had she would have made sure to cancel it. Sooo what was she doing here?

"Friend of yours?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow.

"Um uh yeah, it's a  _long_ story." She said hoping to get off that topic of conversation before it got revealed just  _why_  she knew this woman. Usagi was getting more comfortable with the other girls but she still was nervous about talking to them about her past. Plus now was not the time to be talking about that particularly long subject. Michiru frowned slightly at that comment but chose not to push it thankfully. Though she saw a raised eyebrow from Ms. Sestuna.

Addressing Ms. Sestuna, Usagi inquired. "Not that I don't mind the visit but why are you here? I didn't miss an appointment, did I?" "No, I am here on other business." Setsuna said mysteriously. "Other business?" Usagi repeated in confusion. Her worries only increased when she felt Luna tense suddenly next to her leg. Well, that was an unexpected reaction. Was Ms. Sestuna a senshi?

Setsuna for her part lifted her arm and pointed to her wrist, not revealing how she knew Usagi or what kind of appointment was mentioned despite looks from the others clearly wanting to know. On said wrist, peeking from beneath the sleeve of her jacket, a bracelet in the same style as the transformation bracelets she saw Haruka and Michiru wearing.

"Your Pluto." was Michiru's surprised comment, though still more a statement than a question. Well okay, she hadn't seen that coming. "If your Pluto then why did you..?" Usagi trailed off there unsure how to proceed without delving into a topic that they didn't have the time for tonight. "A conversation for another time." Sestuna gentled simply.

Fine Usagi was good with that. She had a few guesses as to why Sestuna had apparently taken on the role of doctor for her but at this point, they were only guesses.

"Wait. How come you know our true identities yet we never knew yours?" Haruka asked frowning. Thankfully deciding not to go down the particular rabbit hole on just how the two of them knew each other. Setsuna's answer was simple. "Senshi of time and space."

"Is that your answer to everything?" Usagi heard Haruka complain under her breath. She wasn't sure what that comment meant, maybe a reference to the clock youma. "Only when it's appropriate." Setsuna responded. Causing Haruka to turn a light shade of red.

"Haruka. I have a sense about some things. You can feel the wind. It may be Pluto may as well be able to know things we would never have access to normally." Michiru muttered to Haruka. "I don't like it." Haruka said back to Michiru which Usagi shrugged her shoulders from between them, having no idea Haruka had any sort of special ability outside her attacks.

"So why are you suddenly appearing now in civilian garb to help us?" Michiru asked with a frown. "It is time for me to do so." Setsuna's enigmatic response.

"Give us a moment." Haruka said before pulling Usagi and Michiru out of the room.

"So do we let her tag on? I get she's one of us, and you seem to know her Usagi, but she has only shown up once." Haruka commented once they were hopefully a fair distance away that they wouldn't be overheard. "I haven't been working that long with you." Usagi pointed out.

"Okay that is true but you've also tried to actively get to know us outside of Senshi duty." Haruka conceded for a moment before continuing. "Also just how long have you known her?" "We met two weeks ago." Usagi admitted. She had gotten her as a doctor not long before the incident of the clock youma if she remembered correctly.

"You didn't suspect anything at that time?" Haruka asked frowning.

"No, but I've only been around her maybe about four hours at most."-Usagi confessed-"Look my opinion is the extra help against this Jadeite isn't unwarranted from what you two have mentioned and so far she has a better record then that other person I've worked with."

"Who?" Michiru frowned apparently already had forgotten about their one run in with Tuxedo Mask. "My point exactly." Usagi said. "Is this about the Tuxedo Mask guy?" Haruka asked frowning apparently vaguely remember him showing up at the idol contest.

"Yes. Since it seems both of them have a record of randomly showing up." Usagi said to the older girl. "So do we just let her come along? I don't really see any harm. She did help out considerably with the time youma." "I don't see any real reason to say no to her. Help certainly wouldn't hurt." Michiru commented after a brief silence. "I still don't exactly like it but I don't think there is anything we can do to not have her here." Haruka confessed.

Usagi decided to try to be what Luna said she was supposed to be. Taking a deep breath she said. "So were all in agreement that she is coming? You don't have to like it or even trust her... I think she will come anyway no matter what we say." Usagi told the older girl who made another face at the prospect. Really with the way Haruka was acting at the moment Usagi wondered just how much persuading Michiru had to do in the beginning to come to those first couple of meetings.

"Fine" Haruka gave in with a reluctant sigh before Michiru followed up. "If she's fine with it then I am too."

* * *

Having Pluto around had certainly simplified things. Sailor Moon certainly thought so anyway. They stepped through the portal Pluto had created, right into Haneda Airport's runway area. With Pluto officially on board they had been able to use her abilities to not only get to the airport without having to deal with pesky things like security checkpoints or people questioning why three teenagers and a twenty-something were trying to get to the airport after the last flight for the night had taken off, but also directly to where Jadeite had said he would be waiting for them. Having a senshi with dominion over time and space certainly came in handy. She did wonder though, why Pluto hadn't shown up to help like this before now.

"So you have come then to what will be your graveyard." Sailor Moon heard someone say turning to see the blonde from the night before. It was certainly a different experience to see him floating around in mid-air and not some weird sky apparition.

"Wait. Since when are there four of you?" He said frowning all of a sudden. Oh yeah, she had nearly forgotten the message had only been addressed to Uranus and Neptune. Okay, she could understand him missing Pluto since this was only their second time working with her... But her? She had been working as Sailor Moon for almost a month now the fact that he only now realized she was a thing apparently was gross negligence.

"Not our fault you haven't been keeping up to date with your minions." Sailor Uranus commented clearly amused by the fact that Jadeite hadn't accounted for Moon and Pluto's presence.

He frowned before shrugging. "Whatever. Two more of you won't make much difference. I will kill you all!" With that he seemed to make a motion at one of the airplanes and the nearest one to them all of a sudden started to roll, rather quickly too, in their direction.

"This makes no sense. How can he control a bunch of airplanes?" Sailor Moon heard Sailor Uranus complain as they attempted to outrun the airplanes.

"The how part isn't really that important right now Uranus! Does anyone got any on how to stop these crazy things?!" Sailor Moon managed to yell out while they were running for there lives. She apparently needed to do more running if her huffing and puffing was any indication. Uranus and Neptune weren't having any trouble, but then Haruka ran track and Michiru probably went on runs with her. For them, this was probably a breeze. Not that it mattered if they couldn't take care of the fact that they were being chased by them they would have much bigger concerns on hands.

"We need a distraction of some sort! Something to break the spell on these and get an attack in!" Sailor Neptune suggested.

"Pluto you're the senshi of space and time! Can't you, I don't know, slow down time enough for us to get an opening on him?!" Moon asked Pluto. Really she didn't have much in the way of ideas at the moment. So she went with the first thing that came to mind.

"I don't have that much control over the space-time continuum. Opening a portal is a fairly simple task and doesn't have repercussions. Messing with the flow of time, on the other hand,* is not only complicated but could lead to a backlash." Sailor Pluto answered somehow managing to sound not at all harried by all of this. All right not sure what she meant by backlash but probably best not to find out.

"Okay, so that's out then!" Usagi said, back to square one then. "Any other ideas?" "We could try attacking the airplanes and seeing if that helps stops them!" Haruka suggested as they tried not to get hit by another dive from the plane coming right at them.

"Uranus I know you and Neptune don't exactly have money problems but can you really pay for the cost of a damaged jumbo jet?!" Usagi asked. She knew both girls had quite a bit of money to their names so it might be entirely possible to be honest if they combined it but she really didn't want to find out.

Sailor Uranus responded. "I'm honestly not sure! Does it matter?!" "Point made!" Usagi's response. It did seem sort of silly if one thought about it. Running for their lives and here she was worrying about not destroying what was being used to try to kill them.

Thankfully any more conversation on how to take care of the airplanes chasing them as they suddenly came grinding to a halt as the airplane... stopped chasing them..? Confused for a moment she looked back to where Jadeite was perched to see him gripping his right hand which appeared to be... cut by a rose? "Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon said relieved that the strange caped guy had decided to show up tonight in spite of not being called out. Well then again technically it had only been Uranus and Neptune to begin with and yet here they were five of them standing up against Jadeite. Funny how things worked out.

"Now!" Sailor Uranus said powering up a Spiral Buster. She clearly didn't intend to let this opportunity slip through her fingers and Usagi was inclined to agree with her. Clearly so were the others. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Pluto followed suit powering up their own attacks.

Sailor Moon went to grab her Tiara to strike and froze. It suddenly struck her this was not a youma. Jeidite was not a youma. He was human. He was scary and had powers but he was human. Would he bleed like so many others did that day..? It didn't seem likely he'd disappear like the youma when they were defeated. No sparkles. No dust. No. She couldn't imagine anything but blood and dead cold skin and blood. Blood. So much blood. The blood of a human being.

The thought of having a responsibility or any involvement in someone else's end was something she wasn't apparently ready to face again. She had thought that since Jadeite was an enemy of possibly alien origin that she would be okay with whatever decision she made concerning his fate... but once actually in the situation, she found that she really, really wasn't. He wasn't an alien. He was human. She couldn't move. Luna never told her she'd be fighting humans beings. She thought they would all be youma or something like them at least.

While the others got their attacks off the ground and launched, Sailor Moon couldn't even remove the tiara to begin the process of launching the attack.

Unfortunately, he chose that moment to open up a portal sending the attacks spiraling through the thin air before eventually dissipating. Well, that answered the question she never really thought of or wanted to know what happens with the attacks when they miss their target. Though now Sailor Moon morbidly wondered why it had disappeared instead of continuing until it hit something.

"Damnit!" Sailor Moon heard Uranus cuss.

"Moon just what was that?!" Sailor Neptune asked turning on her after a couple of minutes when it appeared that Jadeite wasn't going to be returning anytime soon.

"..." Sailor Moon didn't answer. What could she even say? That she froze?

"I think what Neptune's trying to get as to is why did you stop? He's an enemy Moon. I get you hate the thought of anyone dying after whatever it is that happened before we met. It's impossible not to notice but sometimes not everyone we fight against can be saved." Uranus broke in at this point.

Usagi broke through her inability to speak and moved her hand from her tiara. Had it really been there this whole time even after he was gone? "I know he's an enemy. I know I won't be able to save everyone that fights for Queen Beryl. I froze." Said Sailor Moon ignoring the looks Sestuna was sending her. She had to wonder how much having her doctor on the team was going to end up coming back to bite her. Thankfully most likely the result would have been the same even with her attack but that didn't change the fact that even she realized that at a crucial moment she had freaked and now they knew she might fail them and maybe that was a good thing...? Luna would be upset with her to know that line of thinking. She wasn't sure how she would handle it the next time Jadeite showed up.

"We are going to really have a talk about this later." Stated a clearly frustrated Sailor Uranus. Well, at least they weren't trying to push the matter for now. Though that was one conversation she was already dreading.

"So where exactly did Jaideite go?" Sailor Moon finally asked the one question that had bugged her for a few minutes. There had no more randomly moving airplanes and it looked like Tuxedo Mask had disappeared too for that matter.

"He most likely fled back to the Dark Kingdom." Said Pluto, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"So is it safe to go back home then?" Sailor Moon asked with a bit of hesitation. Honestly, she just wanted to go home and sleep this off at this point, but if Jadeite was still here or might come back that would be a bad idea. "Well, he's definitely not here anymore." Sailor Neptune commented frowning. "I'm not picking up anything that could even closely resemble a Dark Kingdom signature." "I doubt he will be coming back tonight." Added Sestuna.

"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon asked frowning slightly. Had she technically freaked out over something that in the end would mean nothing with Beryl's actions?

"It is possible she outright kills him. It will likely be worse than the quick death we would have given him as well." Pluto seemed to know what Sailor Moon needed to hear. Great. So really her lack of reaction had been in the end over nothing since he might not die at her hands anyway. Not only that but Pluto seemed to be implying it would have been a mercy..?! Sailor Moon didn't even know what she had stepped into anymore. This just couldn't be even remotely fair. How was she supposed to be... this? Whatever this was since now it apparently involved killing people and not just Youma.

End Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that’s a wrap. For both the chapter and the Jaedite arc. Next chapter and the beginning of the Nephrite saga is due up March 2nd. For now I’ll leave you a short preview to tide you over. 
> 
> It was silent for a moment before Michiru seemed to decide to put her two cents in. “I’m not sure if we have a say in the matter anymore. Its not like before where we were flying under the radar. Jadeite, calling us out, essentially forced us out into the open. The incident at Haneda just took us from a possible hoax, urban legend even, to something real they can prove exists. It maybe best to meet with them rather then trying to hide from them. While they are asking politely.” Shaking her head by the end, her own displeasure at the situation apparent. 
> 
> “Your thinking of contacting your sister.” Haruka realized. 
> 
> “You have a sister?” Usagi asked. This was the first she had heard of Michiru having a sister. Neither of the girls had really brought up their own families when they had been hanging out before. Considering how tight lipped she tended to be about her own history she felt it was hypocritical to try asking about theirs. 
> 
> “Two. One younger. One older. The older one is the one Haruka is referring to. She works within the government. She’s not that high up but she has the right connections to help us." Michiru explained. Luna Nodded. “Sounds like the perfect person to make contact about this whole fiasco"-Sighing she continues-"Though it would mean bringing in yet another person into the fold about your true identities.” Luna was now frowning, clearly disliking the idea even if she saw the need for it. Michiru was silent for a moment as Haruka piped in. "It's not simple." Luna sighed. "It never is, is it."
> 
> Michiru solemly assented. "I’m honestly not sure how she will react. We have not been on the best of terms. She took Haruka and I harder than my younger sister. I get along with my youngest sister best actually. I don't know how my older sister will respond, if at all." Her face reflected a sort of sadness as she starred out the window. No one spoke a word for a moment as Haruka's hand found it's way around her shoulder, pulling her lightly against her chest and she didn't move once she was, seeming to take the comfort it was meant to be. 
> 
> After a moment of the silence, with no one knowing what to say, Haruka finally spoke, more softly than she might normally but nobody missed it. “With the way you have talked about her, I don't see any reason she wouldn't respond. We have garnered too much attention for her to ignore you, if nothing else." “Your likely right. I am uncomfortable not having another option. We shouldn't rely on her. We do not know if she will help us.” Michiru pointed out. 
> 
> And that’s it for this week. I’ll see everyone on the 2nd. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. And please remember to leave a comment or review on the story. Even if its really short!


	9. Consequences and Actions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone. Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a good week and has a good weekend.
> 
> We are officially now into the Nephrite arc. This one is a fair length longer then the Jaedite arc (at one point it was only supposed to be 7 chapters and then I changed my mind). Still have one more chapter to finish of this arc but its currently a good 15,000 words overall longer then the Jaedite arc. This is kind of because this arc is where I really started to find my rhythm and started laying the groundwork for some plans I have for later in the story, much later. 
> 
> As always please leave a review or a comment in the case of AO3. Even short ones make my day. And let me know you are enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing this stuff.
> 
> Also I don’t think I’ve addressed this before but I do on occasion go back to the older chapters and add new scenes. Chapter 4 had a scene added almost a couple of months after it was published. Chapter 1 has a new scene that will be added once I get it back from my beta.
> 
> Speaking of betas, thanks again tsukikageshi for betaing the chapter. 
> 
> Anyways enough rambling. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 9

Consequences and Actions

"Usagi are you sure you are all right after yesterday's fight?" Michiru asked eyeing her with concern. She had been relatively quiet since they had got back from Haneda Airport. More so than usual Usagi knew but she'd not been able to bring herself to even pretend to 'bounce back' so quickly. Thankfully neither girl had pushed her about what had ultimately caused her to freeze when faced with having to possibly kill Jadeite other than the brief conversation at the airport. Usagi knew eventually it would be brought up and explanation would be needed but she was grateful for the time nevertheless.

"Guess I'm just wondering what in the end happened to Jadeite." She admitted answering Michiru's question with a shrug. It had been bugging her for a while now. There hadn't been any sign of him since the night at Haneda and she wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Pluto's words still rung in her ears a bit, bothering her.

"It is best if we take it one day at a time." Said Luna with a sigh with a look that clearly, to Usagi, was her patented 'I wish you would tell them more about your issues' face-or so she had dubbed it.

"Either way we have more important things to deal with then Jadeite." Michiru said speaking up to remind the girls about another problem looming over them at the moment. Usagi groaned. They did not need this right now. Sighing she verbalized her thoughts on it. "Right. We have enough trouble as it is dealing with everything else without now having to deal with the government. Ideas?" After the whole incident at Haneda, the government had issued a statement through the news this morning that they wished to speak to the girls who had been responsible for taking down the terrorist known as Jadeite. However, with the issue of their secret identities that seemed a bit easier said than done.

It was silent for a moment before Michiru seemed to decide to put her two cents in. "I'm not sure if we have a say in the matter anymore. It's not like before where we were flying under the radar. Jadeite, calling us out, essentially forced us out into the open. The incident at Haneda just took us from a possible hoax, an urban legend even, to something real they can prove exists. It may be best to meet with them rather than trying to hide from them. While they are asking politely." Shaking her head by the end, her own displeasure at the situation apparent.

"Your thinking of contacting your sister." Haruka realized.

"You have a sister?" Usagi asked. This was the first she had heard of Michiru having a sister. Neither of the girls had really brought up their own families when they had been hanging out before. Considering how tight-lipped she tended to be about her own history she felt it was hypocritical to try asking about theirs.

"Two. One younger. One older. The older one is the one Haruka is referring to. She works within the government. She's not that high up but she has the right connections to help us." Michiru explained. Luna nodded. "Sounds like the perfect person to make contact about this whole fiasco"-Sighing she continues-"Though it would mean bringing in yet another person into the fold about your true identities." Luna was now frowning, clearly disliking the idea even if she saw the need for it. Michiru was silent for a moment as Haruka piped in. "It's not simple." Luna sighed. "It never is, is it."

Michiru solemnly assented. "I'm honestly not sure how she will react. We have not been on the best of terms. She took Haruka and I harder than my younger sister. I get along with my youngest sister best actually. I don't know how my older sister will respond, if at all." Her face reflected a sort of sadness as she starred out the window. No one spoke a word for a moment as Haruka's hand found its way around her shoulder, pulling her lightly against her chest and she didn't move once she was, seeming to take the comfort it was meant to be.

After a moment of the silence, with no one knowing what to say, Haruka finally spoke, more softly than she might normally but nobody missed it. "With the way you have talked about her, I don't see any reason she wouldn't respond. We have garnered too much attention for her to ignore you if nothing else." "Your likely right. I am just uncomfortable not having another option. We shouldn't rely on her. We do not know if she will help us." Michiru pointed out.

Silence once again fell over the group. "Maybe my Dad knows someone? I mean he is a reporter after all..?" Usagi brought up with that question trailing off her idea. She didn't think it was as useful as Michiru's sister being in the government. If they had been back in their hometown and were trying to work with their local government it would be another story but they hadn't been in Tokyo long enough to establish the same type of connections that he had had before yet.

"And it looks like the only other option we would have if Michiru's sister falls through." Luna agreed.

"It's still debatable considering your father works in journalism, how well he would be received, but that really is the only other option at this point." Michiru agreed after a momentary pause. Usagi decided to voice her thoughts once more, thinking perhaps to find another, better way that wouldn't possibly hurt Michiru or put her dad in the middle of something so big like this. "Maybe if we look around some will find something. It's not like we have an exact timeline to respond to the government by."

Michiru shook her head. "While it is true they did not give us a deadline, our time is limited. The longer we take, the more likely they will think we are a threat, if they do not already. The sooner we act the better." "Okay, so we just need to contact your sister as soon as possible and start looking at alternate options now." Usagi said starting to realize just how much they might be in over their heads. Boy, if she didn't feel over her head already as it was.

"I just hope she answers." Michiru muttered, clearly not meaning to be heard, wandering off to make the phone call.

* * *

 

Coordinating a meeting with a government official had been well,  _interesting,_ to say the least. First, they had to make Michiru's sister actually believe that yes they were the senshi, that had been a whole experience within itself. Second of all there had been deciding who and when to meet. It seemed just about everyone wanted to talk to them within the Japanese government.

It had come down to picking what would possibly be the person, with hopefully their best interests at heart, and arranging a meeting. It had taken about three days of staring at the internet and talking to people (mainly Michiru's sister) before they finally settled on someone and set a designated time to have a private meeting. Then there was the fact that Luna had never told them that apparently, she was a shapeshifter of some kind capable of looking like more than just a run of the mill cat.

So, everything was set. Haruka's license meant they could get there without attracting unwanted attention from curious people on the Tokyo subway. It was good all the way up to the point they got swamped. Apparently, someone leaked to the press and they were surrounded as soon as they arrived. Thank god for security, else they might still be trying to get through the crowd of reporters into the building.

"I recognize you three from the security footage at Haneda though I must admit I don't recognize your friend here." Their new advisor said admitted as they were let into the office. A middle-aged man named Mr. Tanaka. He was fairly average looking, short black hair, brown eyes and bit on the wiry side. Luna was using her human form to deal with the situation since a talking cat would draw a lot more attention than a human- even one with a crescent moon on its forehead. It was interesting to see this form since up until now Moon had only heard about it in passing.

"My name is Luna. I act as an adviser to the girls. I am around most of the time during fights but I have no fighting power of my own so I am usually off somewhere on the sidelines." Luna explained as they all settled into different seats.

"Hard to believe the airport security cameras missed picking up another person." He admitted with a frown.

Luna shook her head to indicate they hadn't missed anything. "I would have only gotten in the way. Especially given the obvious trap." It was best that he didn't know that she had another form as a cat. 

"Speaking of unseen people you appear to be missing two from the group in Haneda the first would be another lady in uniform." He noticed frowning slightly.

"That would be Pluto. She's a bit of an enigma and seems to show up on her own accord when she's wanted or needed. She had other commitments today that couldn't be rescheduled." Sailor Moon broke in there. She had tried contacting her now knowing who Pluto actually was but Sestuna had said she couldn't (or wouldn't who knows really?) come to the meeting.

"And the man in the tuxedo?" Tanaka asked tapping his pen on the desk looking over a piece of paper.

"That would be Tuxedo Mask. I'm the one who has had the most experience with him out of everyone in this room and I honestly don't know much outside of he is an ally." Sailor Moon admitted.

"So moving on from that topic was this the first real fight for you three or was this the first public incident." He asked frowning slightly.

"I wouldn't say this was the first public incident. There have been plenty of incidents involving the Dark Kingdom that were out in the public. This  _is_  the first time they have declared themselves like this in connection to a public incident. It is also the first time our involvement fighting against them has been brought out to the public as well." Sailor Neptune cut in explaining in her gentle yet firm voice.

"What were some other more infamous incidents of those you mentioned?" He asked looking at them intently waiting for an answer.

"Well for me there were those weird chinchella pets not quite a month ago. That was the biggest plot I really tackled on my own, though together we also had to deal with the Dreamland incident and the clocks that were making people rush." Sailor Moon added. Hoping Neptune and Uranus would contribute with a few incidents that might have happened before she became Sailor Moon and joined them.

"For us personally, the vanishing bus near the crossroads in Juuban and Crystal Academy were two other big profile plots that we discovered were being run by the Dark Kingdom come to mind. There were a few other one that could have been picked up by the public, a radio show involving love letters among them, but somehow no one connected what was going on until Jadeite went public a few nights ago." Neptune confessed thankfully picking up where she had left off.

"But you didn't cover them." He said turning to Sailor Moon with a frown.

"They were before my time. Neptune's been awake the longest out of everyone in the room and I the shortest." Moon thought that was a safe detail to add. It certainly hadn't been on the list of topics that they would not to talk about.

"Somehow despite the fact that Moon had several run-ins with his youma, it seems they were previously only aware of the two of us. Our best guess is that he chose to blame the loss of youma all on us and didn't bother to investigate the possibility of another Sailor Senshi being awake." Sailor Uranus cut in there leaving the fact the dark kingdom clearly knew there were more senshi now-hanging in the air.

"And what exactly are these youma?" Tanaka asked frowning slightly.

"It's a bit unknown to say the least. We know the youma are alien because the Dark Kingdom that controls them itself is alien. However other than not being human and being able to hide themselves they are a mystery even to us." Luna cut in there.

He frowned again. "What do you mean when you say alien? Do you mean alien as in outside of this country or alien as in extraterrestrial?"

"Extraterrestrial. Both the Senshi and the Dark Kingdom are things that are several millennia old and their exact origins are unknown. Once upon a time, the Senshi were spread across all the planets in the solar system but now they are all here on Earth." Luna explained.

"Wait does that mean that you all are aliens?" He asked.

"No everyone but me is human. The girls are reincarnations of the senshi of the past who protected this planet and the others within this solar system however they are not, as you call them, aliens." Luna assured.

"There's a lot absorb here to be honest and I'll have more questions later most likely but for now I think I've learned all I can handle to be honest. In the mean time it might not hurt to sit down and schedule a formal interview. If you say this Dark Kingdom is a threat to the general public then they should be made at least somewhat aware of what's going on." He said leaning back slightly in the chair.

"That might be the worst thing to do. To tell them there are things out there that can look and act like them one moment and be a monster the next. People will panic." Uranus broke in, with a grim expression as if imagining the chaos such would cause and dreading it, there from her place starring out the window. Neptune added to what Uranus said. "We would also be buried under false reports. Panic is not the only result. It would make our job harder if those details were known. That situation would be less than ideal on all fronts. It would only benefit the dark kingdom and any criminals that would take advantage of the chaos."

"That is true." He agreed. "All right for the meantime, we are done here. I'm assuming I can reach you four again in the future through Miss Kiaoh?"

"That would probably be best." Luna agreed.

* * *

"Cute dress. I'm surprised they let you try it on." Usagi admitted handing the photo back to Naru. It was the weekend after their first meeting at the Municipal Building and since things were still quiet as far as the Dark Kingdom went so she was spending the day with Naru. They hadn't had much time to get together since the Haneda incident, with her being busy with Senshi stuff and Naru dealing with the fast approaching wedding of a close cousin of hers.

"Yeah apparently they are letting people who are interested try on dresses to help attract prospective customers. Even if they aren't engaged. While there is definitely no way I am going to need a dress like that anytime soon it was still pretty nice to try it on." Naru admitted putting the photo away.

"So when is Ruki tying the knot?" Usagi had met the cousin a couple of times when Naru was still living up north. Though it had never been for very long. The only family member of Naru's that she was really familiar with was her mother.

"Supposed to be at the beginning of April when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. She's a bit worried though. Her fiance just disappeared a couple of days ago. With his work it isn't that uncommon for him to be gone for long hours without anyone hearing from him but he's never disappeared for this long according to Ruki." Naru explained.

Usagi frowned slightly. "Has she gone to the police about it?"

"She went ahead and filed a missing person's report but it probably won't help much other than telling them to keep a lookout for him. Plus, there's a good chance its part of a larger case. Apparently, several men who are supposed to be getting married soon have all gone missing recently." Naru commented before frowning, "What's with the face?"

"It's nothing really I'm just hoping it's not another youma plot." Usagi said softly with a tired sigh. It had the hallmarks of one at least. The whole people vanishing thing made her think of the people who went missing at Dreamland. Really you would think that using that tactic again so soon after it failing would have taught them it was a bad idea. Apparently not.

"It reminds me of the incident at Dreamland." Usagi confessed after a moment answering the question she knew Naru had.

"Wait all those people missing at Dreamland was actually part of a plot from the Dark Kingdom?" Naru asked in disbelief. Right. It seems she had somehow forgotten to tell Naru about the particulars of that.

"Yeah almost hard to believe, but I had a front row ticket to that particular plot. Heck, I was a victim of that particular plot." Usagi admitted. Thank god Haruka and Michiru had been there to rescue her from that situation. It was scary to think what could have happened otherwise. To herself and all the other victims.

"Wait you're pretty self-aware of the plots. How did you manage to not be aware enough to actually become a victim?" Naru said in surprise.

"When we first showed up we weren't a hundred percent sure it was a plot. We were investigating and had to split up. I was caught before I could transform." Usagi explained.

"Oh." Naru agreed. "So what gave it away?"

"Youma was a particularly good illusionist but maybe not the best at constructing plans. It tossed up some sort of illusion of a meadow and then started draining people's energy. I think most people wrote it off as being part of the show. But since we were looking for a youma plot it made sense that it was something more. Unfortunately, the illusion kind of left me trapped so Luna had to go get help." Usagi said frowning slightly. Come to think of how come no one else had reacted negatively that was a rather large change in scenery. Even if Tokyo had its fair share of weird things that was still pretty big.

"So, the fiancé plot?" Naru asked changing the subject back.

"I'm not sure. It definitely could be one considering there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to them. I'll talk to Haruka and Michiru about it. They handled their fair share of plots before I became a senshi." Usagi agreed. She was supposed to meet up again the next day, at their place for once. So hopefully they could decide then whether or not it was something more.

* * *

"So, what makes you think this is another plot and not some fiance getting cold feet?" Michiru asked raising an eyebrow. She had decided to bring up the case of the disappearing fiances to Haruka and Michiru at the next get together. Might be nothing, might be her friendship with Naru compelling her to act, but it might also be something.

"It just seemed like the timing was weird, kind of like how all those people missing at Dreamland the last place they were seen was in Dreamland. She did say the last place they were seen together was at that wedding shop. The fiancé was there to get a tuxedo fitting while she was getting fitted for her wedding dress. Plus, when I looked further he wasn't the only fiancé to vanish after visiting that shop." Usagi commented. It might be nothing, it might be something. With the way things were in Tokyo right now and the Dark Kingdom it was almost impossible to tell at first glance what was and wasn't a Dark Kingdom plot.

"Well, it certainly wouldn't be the first plot involving people being kidnapped. In fact, you could argue it has become a trend." Luna commented with a frown. This would make plot two out of three involving kidnapping people if it was, in fact, a Dark Kingdom plot-and it mirrored the other in too many ways not to be.

"Who owns the shop anyway? If we can trace it back to one of Jadeite's old disguises then it would certainly point towards it being a Dark Kingdom plot." Michiru commented.

"A Masato Sanjouin, some millionaire dude by the looks of it." Usagi said holding up her phone which had a picture of the shop owner.

"Well that's definitely not Jadeite. First off it doesn't look like him unless he got a dye job or a wig. Second, he always preferred aliases that were essentially shortened forms of his name." Haruka said with a shake of the head.

"Still Jadeite can't be the only general of Beryl's. Luna, do you remember what any of the other generals look like?" Michiru asked the cat who was currently frowning.

"Unfortunately, no. While I admit that man looks familiar it could mean just about anything. He could have been someone in the Lunar court for all my memory being as spotty as it is." Luna said shaking her head.

"So, what do we do? You want us to just leave it alone?" Asked Usagi frowning slightly.

"At the moment that seems like the only option. Unless it becomes a blatant Dark Kingdom plot we should just leave it to the police to investigate. This isn't the same situation as Dreamland where we could easily investigate it without drawing attention. A bunch of teenagers walking into a wedding shop unattended will raise far too many questions." Luna pointed out.

* * *

"Why is it I never find myself in these situations when one of the other girls are around?" Usagi grumbled under her breath. She had stayed over at Naru's a bit longer then she had intended originally and so she had run into Motoki, the arcade owner that she and Naru sometimes frequented, cornering a brunette she didn't recognize. At first, it had just looked creepy, but the glow surrounding both him and the girl suggested something a bit more supernatural.

"Sorry Motoki." Usagi apologized to the unconscious man, she had hit him upside the head thanking whatever gods that Luna had insisted she start doing some physical exercise now that she was out of school for the year and not so bogged down. Though probably the only reason why she had gotten the upper hand was because he hadn't noticed her and she had managed to get a good hit upside the head. He was bound to be hurting and confused in the morning and she hated hitting what seemed like a nice guy but hey at least it was one less brainwashed person to fight off.

"Thank you." The girl said let out a breathless sigh after a moment.

"Not a problem." Usagi said helping the girl back to her feet, "You should probably get going home before anything weirder happens."-Pausing to stare at the glowing bride that was laughing in a weird manner on a nearby rooftop all of a sudden. "Or not." Usagi had horrible luck when on her own. Horrible. 'Why does this only happen when it's just me?'

Before she could try to get a better handle on the situation, the glowing bride vanished. Okay so that eliminated any possibility that this wasn't a Dark Kingdom plot. Well at least she knew where to start looking for it thanks to that talk she had with Naru.

"What was that?" The girl asked.

"Something weird?" Usagi hedged questioningly with a sigh.

"You talk like weirdly laughing glowing brides is normal for you." The girl commented.

"Well, not so much the glowing bride as much the weird part stuff." Usagi confessed.

"You'll be okay?" The brunet girl asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I've gotten a little too used to weird things happening around here lately." Usagi admitted. The girl looked at her like she had grown a second head. "New to the area?" Usagi surmised/questioned with a nod of the head. "It wasn't always like this, unfortunately, this is quickly turning into Juuban's normal."

"Great I move here for a fresh start and I move to supernatural ally." The girl muttered under her breath. "Juuban, for the most part, isn't bad. You just have to be on alert for the occasional weird stuff." Usagi tried to assure her. Well maybe more than just occasional at this point.

"You'll really be okay by yourself?" Came the concerned question.

"Thank you but I have friends who live close by and this isn't the first time I've been in a situation like this." Usagi assured her. Well technically they weren't really close but she needed to get the girl out of here so she could transform since this reeked of a youma plot. "I'll be fine just get yourself home I've gotten used to this by now."

Pulling out her phone she sent off a quick text to Haruka and Michiru (Luna apparently was still trying to sort out the communicator issue) saying to meet her at the wedding shop. It might end up being nothing but so far it was the only solid lead they had on what might be the newest Dark Kingdom plot.

* * *

This one was a bit more clever then the previous youmas she had dealt with it. Sailor Moon was finding it near impossible to find a long enough opening to actually squeeze an attack in since the openings seemed to close as quickly as they opened. She was more than a little relieved when a familiar looking yellow ball came out of nowhere and slammed into the youma. Sailor Moon's shoulders sagged slightly in relief. This would simplify things. She wasn't sure how they had got there so fast. But she for one wasn't really complaining. This youma with its energy blasts was proving to be a handful trying to dodge and power up an attack at the same time.

"Are you all right Sailor Moon?" Neptune asked as they came up to her side. They had probably seen the last blast she had dodged. Most of them had missed her but one or two had grazed her. Thankfully it had hit the prosthetics which should be able to handle a bit of beating and not herself. Or else she would be having a harder time maneuvering at the moment.

"I'm fine this one is just proving to be problematic. This one really likes its energy attacks and its fast. Any time I think I have an opening to attack it gets the better of me." Sailor Moon said frowning slightly. She wasn't sure exactly what she was doing wrong. But there was obviously something there. Maybe she needed Luna to focus more on her speed when they trained? She wasn't sure. Not the time to be thinking about it.

"Okay. Good old fashion distraction it is." Uranus said. When all else failed fall back on the oldest trick in the book. Have someone distract the youma while someone else attacks it.

Before any of them could actually do anything another energy beam sent the three of them scattering. Usagi frowned glancing around, that hadn't come from the youma. She knew that much since she had had an eye on it when the blast came roaring in. So who was it then? Finally, she spotted a new figure floating in the sky, some long haired brunette glaring at them. Judging by the slightly familiar grey uniform she had a feeling that he wasn't here to help them. Great just what they needed, double the trouble. Uranus was the first to gather herself enough to demand, "Who are you?!"

"My name is Nephrite, Queen Beryl's second general and third in the line of command beneath the queen herself. I will succeed where Jadeite failed." Sneering, the newly dubbed Nephrite announced before shooting an energy blast towards them. Causing all three of them to scramble in opposite directions. They had barely stopped when the youma sent off its own blast. Great now they were going to have to deal with double the energy blasts. Uranus and Neptune were a bit more successful than her as she seemed to get caught up by her own feet and stumbled her way out of the blast range.

"Sailor Moon!" She heard Neptune calling apparently having seen her stumble out of the blast's range.

"I'm fine!" Sailor Moon called back. It had grazed her slightly but it had hit her prosthetic more then it had hit her, thankfully. Though that apparently presented a new problem she realized as she tried not to pale slightly as she scrambled back to her feet. The right leg, the one that had taken the graze, didn't feel quite right. It shouldn't be possible since she carefully maintained her prosthesis but she had done enough reading that she was almost certain that last scramble had knocked it lose. If that was true then she was almost useless. There was no way for her to dodge or attack easily without losing her balance and possibly the prosthesis coming off her leg entirely. She called back to them, "You take care of the youma. I'll keep Nephrite distracted!" Or at least try to.

Turning her attention back away from the youma and the other girls she saw Nephrite was powering up another energy blast but didn't seem to be interested in targeting her. Only to pale when she was where he was aiming. No, no, no not again. He was aiming for Uranus.

Sailor Moon initially started to reach up for her tiara but quickly came to the conclusion even if she could get it powered up it would be too late to stop Nephrite. She was going to have to do something else. She had no time to warn them. Uranus was distracted by the bridal youma and Neptune's was too far away to do anything even if she did notice. It was going to come up to quick on Uranus for her to dodge even with her quick reflexes. Sailor Moon wasn't even sure if she could make it in time. She was not able to move at normal speed with one leg feeling dangerously loose. But damned if she wasn't going to have someone else get hurt because she couldn't stop it in time.

She made it, barely. Pushing Uranus out of the way just to be pushed back by the blast as it hit full force sending her flying before hitting the ground hard. She felt the leg come off completely as she skidded across the pavement. She was just going to have to hope that it wasn't damaged beyond repair from this stunt.

"Sailor Moon!" The last thing she registered the joint yell of Haruka and Michiru as she finally felt herself come to a stop. For a brief moment panic swelled as she realized they had to have seen the leg come off and then the pain really set in. Before she sank into nothingness.

* * *

It took a moment for the other girls to snap out of their shock. Between Moon taking a hit and what looked like part of her leg becoming detached it had been a bit much to process at first. Neptune was the first to recover. "I'll go check on her. You take care of the youma!" Neptune called running off towards where Moon had come to a stop. Right. The youma. Take care of the youma and then figure out what in the world had just happened and if Sailor Moon was okay. Uranus said powering up a Spiral Buster and putting as much power behind it as she could before tossing it at the bridal youma. Okay maybe that was a bit more power than needed since it looked like the youma vaporized on impact but it did the trick at least. One problem down, one to go.

She turned to look up at Nephrite who was currently floating in the air observing the situation glaring at him. Basically daring Nephrite to try and make another move. Her and Neptune could defend Sailor Moon as need be but she wanted him gone so she could actually go check on the younger girl. Normally she wouldn't have been against outright attacking the general but she knew that she had probably little chance of actually taking him down on her own especially after putting a lot into one-shotting the youma. The power behind the blasts that had knocked Sailor Moon out had been a good demonstration of that. Nephrite sneered for a moment and then seemed to think better of it and disappeared into a portal.

Uranus relaxed slightly. At least they were out of danger for now. Frowning she walked over to the object she had seen detach from Moon. Now that she actually got a chance to look at it. It was some sort of above-knee prosthesis. She frowned looking at it and then back at Usagi and then back at the prosthetic. Moon sure didn't look like she was in need of one of these. But where else could it have come from?

Her and Neptune had suspected something was up with Usagi for a while. Small things that just didn't quite add up. The Mugen Gaken application, her odd feeling weight when she had nearly passed out at Dreamland, her tendency to be a bit conservative on clothing choices at times among other things. To be honest, though this wasn't one of the things they had pegged as to possibly why she seemed so skittish at times. But it made sense when you started to think about it.

"She's going to be hurting in the morning. But she should be fine by then." Neptune said as Uranus came up to her. "Nephrite?"

"Went back to the Dark Kingdom after I dispatched his youma. She's really going to be okay?" Uranus asked. She had given them both quiet the fright with that stunt. Though to be honest with Usagi's track record of acting to save people without thinking it through they should have been expecting a stunt like this eventually.

"Probably be sore in the morning. It won't be long before she's out and about." Neptune reassured her.

"That's a relief." Uranus let out a breath though… "Why did she react that way?"

"From what I know I'm pretty sure those are supposed to be secure and tight when fitted properly. If she's been using them for a while she would have quickly realized something wasn't quite right and that she might lose her walking ability. So she might have realized she was going to be out anyway and then reacted. " Neptune surmised with a frown. A loose prosthetic would have put Moon in danger just because she wouldn't have had nearly the same range of motion. Though Neptune suspected that the girl might have been capable of at least hobbling on one foot. She doubted the prosthetics were on 24/7 after all, Usagi had to get around at some time without them. In all their previous fights there had been nothing to suggest a problem like this before. But then again it had become apparent just how good Usagi was at hiding things when she wanted to be. It could have happened and Usagi could have covered it up.

"There were better ways to take herself out of the fight." Uranus muttered. It went unsaid but implied that this also meant better ways to deal with the approaching attack then forcing her way into it.

"We both know that. This is Usagi though. She protects at her own expense and without regard for her own safety." Neptune reminded her seeming to realize what she had left unsaid. This made for incident number three where Usagi had put herself in danger trying to protect someone else since they had started working together.

"I wonder if this deals with that." Uranus muttered looking at the leg again. Wondering where and why she would have needed it. There were only a few things she could think of considering that Usagi was a teenager that had grown up in Japan her whole life from what they knew.

"Its quite possible but we won't know anything until Usagi wakes up and talks to us." Neptune said shaking her head.

"Can you tell if there's any other prosthetics?" Uranus asked frowning. Even if they couldn't get the full details on Usagi's condition they could start doing research into how to handle this better but how much handling. If this was one prosthetic then it would make things a bit more complicated but Usagi had proven she was an apt fighter, legs or none so that wasn't a problem, it was more of a precautionary measure after tonight. They would have to be on higher alert and be more cautious if her right leg wasn't the only thing missing.

"No the illusion magic is a bit too strong to tell if that's her only prosthetic or not." Neptune admitted. The magic did its job a little too well. If you didn't try to put your hand where the leg was supposed to be you wouldn't have known there was a missing body part. And when she had tried to examine the other leg it had felt normal. However due to the situation. Neptune wasn't sure if that was the magic or if that was actually the case. "We need to get her home. We can question her on the details in the morning when she's awake and healed." Neptune said after a moment. She wanted answers to the new questions as much as Uranus did but they weren't going to get any now.

End Chapter 9

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that’s a wrap for this week’s chapter. I’ll be back on the 16th with Chapter 10. Please remember to leave a review or comment. If you have questions I might answer them via PM. I say might because depending on what the question is I might not be able to answer it as this stage in the story.  
> For the meantime enjoy a preview of the next chapter and I’ll see you on the 16th:  
> “Usagi.. you can’t avoid them forever." Naru gently pointed out. She had come over earlier and brought Luna along just to hang out. Usagi had been trying to hole herself up in her room at her apartment since the incident at the wedding shop and to give her credit she had been mostly successful. 
> 
> “Usagi. You are going to have to face them eventually.” Luna said from her position next to the bed apparently deciding to toss her own two cents in the conversation.
> 
> Usagi let out a sigh before sitting up. “I know that." To be honest she was afraid of them rejecting her more now then ever before now that they knew about her legs. She had let them get close without knowing how they truly felt about her disability and the last time that had happened she had still been one of Yuki’s ‘friends’. She knew her Mom had said they hadn’t seemed disappointed or disgusted by the situation when they had brought her home that night. She knew they'd talked with her mom even if her mother hadn't told her what had been said. She was afraid they were in shock at the time or something and would have rethought that reaction by now. 
> 
> “Why are you so determined to avoid them?” Luna asked tilting her head. Right. Usagi and Naru had a tendency to dance around the whole Yuki subject so Luna only knew the bare bones of it. 
> 
> Naru sighed and spoke. “Our classmates were not exactly kind to Usagi when they found out about her legs.” Yeah that was putting it midly considering some of the comments she remembered over hearing. 
> 
> Usagi snorted but obviously had decided to elaborate for Luna. “Most of my classmates gave me space or just ignored me when I first arrived at Juuban. After someone I thought was my friend found out about my legs-” She broke off here. She still didn’t like talking about what had gone down at school. 
> 
> “Usagi... I understand. I want to let you know that Uranus and Neptune would never be so cruel." Luna said with a sigh. She thought they had made some fairly decent progress in the area of getting Usagi to trust her teammates. Apparently not. 
> 
> “Good luck I’ve been trying to tell her that for months now.” Naru muttered under her breath. If Luna could actually convince Usagi of this she would give the cat a lot more credit than normal. 
> 
> “That’s part of the problem I think. I thought I knew that girl too.” Usagi explained. She had known Yuki for about three, maybe four months before she had overheard them snickering behind her back and it all had come unraveled. 
> 
> “Usagi. You are still Usagi and Sailor Moon. I am sure the senshi understand this as well.” Luna pointed out finally seeming to accept that they weren’t going to get anywhere with this conversation today. 
> 
> “I need more time.” Usagi explained. She had gotten lucky that there hadn’t been any new plots from the Dark Kingdom. In fact, it had been strangely quiet for the most part. Eventually she was going to have to either get her act together or have her own hand forced into the matter. Eventually she was going to have to face their possible rejection. 
> 
> And that’s a wrap for the preview. See ya in two weeks!


	10. Fall At The Mall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Wooh you know I’m having a busy week when I nearly forget that it’s a posting week. Gotta love college midterms. Can’t wait for spring break to start.
> 
> Not much to say this week. Thanks again to Tsukikageshi or betaing the chapter.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment.

Chapter 10

Fall at the Mall 

"Usagi! Haruka and Michiru are here do you want to see them?" her mother asked popping her head in.

"No!" Usagi called back. She knew it wasn't the politest thing but at the moment she just wasn't ready to deal with talking with them. It had been a little over a week since the incident at the bridal shop and she was actively avoiding the other girls. Thankfully there hadn't been any youma plots in the meantime and she had used school as an excuse to avoid them. It did seem a bit odd that it was so quiet but she wasn't going to complain too much. For now, she had no reason to be with them though now that the school year was done she was running out of ways to avoid them.

"Usagi... you can't avoid them forever." Naru gently pointed out. She had come over earlier and brought Luna along just to hang out. Usagi had been trying to hole herself up in her room at her apartment since the incident at the wedding shop and to give her credit she had been mostly successful.

"Usagi. You are going to have to face them eventually." Luna said from her position next to the bed apparently deciding to toss her own two cents in the conversation.

Usagi let out a sigh before sitting up. "I know that." To be honest she was afraid of them rejecting her more now then ever before now that they knew about her legs. She had let them get close without knowing how they truly felt about her disability and the last time that had happened she had still been one of Yuki's 'friends'. She knew her Mom had said they hadn't seemed disappointed or disgusted by the situation when they had brought her home that night. She knew they'd talked with her mom even if her mother hadn't told her what had been said. She was afraid they were in shock at the time or something and would have rethought that reaction by now.

"Why are you so determined to avoid them?" Luna asked tilting her head. Right. Usagi and Naru had a tendency to dance around the whole Yuki subject so Luna only knew the bare bones of it.

Naru sighed and spoke. "Our classmates were not exactly kind to Usagi when they found out about her legs." Yeah, that was putting it mildly considering some of the comments she remembered overhearing.

Usagi snorted but obviously had decided to elaborate for Luna. "Most of my classmates gave me space or just ignored me when I first arrived at Juuban. After someone I thought was my friend found out about my legs-" She broke off here. She still didn't like talking about what had gone down at school.

"Usagi... I understand. I want to let you know that Uranus and Neptune would never be so cruel." Luna said with a sigh. She thought they had made some fairly decent progress in the area of getting Usagi to trust her teammates. Apparently not.

"Good luck I've been trying to tell her that for months now." Naru muttered under her breath. If Luna could actually convince Usagi of this she would give the cat a lot more credit than normal.

"That's part of the problem I think. I thought I knew that girl too." Usagi explained. She had known Yuki for about three, maybe four months before she had overheard them snickering behind her back and it all had come unraveled.

"Usagi. You are still Usagi and Sailor Moon. I am sure the senshi understand this as well." Luna pointed out finally seeming to accept that they weren't going to get anywhere with this conversation today.

"I need more time." Usagi explained. She had gotten lucky that there hadn't been any new plots from the Dark Kingdom. In fact, it had been strangely quiet for the most part. Eventually, she was going to have to either get her act together or have her own hand forced into the matter. Eventually, she was going to have to face their possible rejection.

* * *

 "I'm sorry. She's still not in the mood to talk." Ikuko said returning to the door where Haruka and Michiru were standing.

"Our apologies for bothering you. We will come by tomorrow and see if she's in a better mood." Michiru said bidding farewell for now. This had been a circular conversation they had been having with the Tsukinos since the bridal shop incident. They had been trying to get Usagi to come out and at least say something to them but Usagi had for whatever reason kept refusing too.

"She's not going to be able to avoid us forever. Eventually, the Dark Kingdom is going to make another move and she is going to have to face us. I just wish she would talk to us before the matter would become forced by circumstance." Haruka commented frowning looking back at the door that went into the apartment.

"For whatever reason, she is still very skittish about talking to us about the whole matter. I don't think her being knocked out when we found out helped." Michiru pointed out. She had her suspicions that the problems and concerns on Usagi's end ran far deeper than whatever physical scars the teen had. Until the girl was ready or made to talk about it with them there was no way to know for sure how deep they ran. She had been able to put a few things together based on what had been mentioned before and her application to Mugen Gaken. But there were so many holes in the story it was hard to see what the entire picture was.

"It's been a week. It's only a matter of time before the Dark Kingdom acts again." Haruka pointed out. Leaving the obvious, they should talk before then, unsaid but understood in her meaning.

"We'll talk to Luna. She lives at Naru's house so we don't necessarily have to talk to Usagi to talk to her. I am sure this must be quite difficult for her." Michiru calmly pointed out. It wasn't the ideal solution but those two maybe the only ones able to actually get Usagi to talk to them. Though if she hadn't been convinced by now…

* * *

Usagi probably would have canceled going to see Ms. Setsuna too if her mother hadn't been the one in charge of her appointments. She really didn't want to run in to the others.

"It's not like you know them very well either." Usagi pointed out frowning. Ms. Setsuna had brought up the fact that she still hadn't gotten together with Haruka and Michiru almost from the get-go. "How do you even know about that anyway?" It's not like Ms. Setsuna had been around when the bridal shop incident had happened. And this was their first meeting since that had happened.

"Your mother mentioned it because she was concerned that the situation was causing you to regress in your progress." Setsuna answered. It was a legitimate concern from what she could see. Becoming Sailor Moon had started bringing Usagi out of the shell she had withdrawn into after the Tohoku quake from what she had seen. However, her fears when it came to Uranus and Neptune seemed to be causing her to withdraw again. "Usagi you need to have a bit more faith in people and how they view you. There isn't anything that would suggest that they would reject you over this. I would think you would know them well enough by now to realize that it would be out of character. If nothing else their loyalty to the crown and a couple of other things made it impossible for them to reject her, not that Usagi knew about that at this point.

Usagi let out a sigh. "Luna's said it at least fifty times already, as has Naru." She had tried to convince herself before that it wouldn't happen but so far it wasn't working.

"What is it that this Yuki did that made you so scared to begin with?" Setsuna asked wondering if she could maybe get some answers on that front, though she wasn't overly hopeful. Usagi had refused to talk about Yuki in the past outside of brief mentions. Setsuna had seen Yuki before not as her doctor but wanting to ID the girl who had caused her princess so many problems. She had been partly concerned that with the way Yuki behaved she may have had a connection to the Dark Kingdom, however, for all intents and purposes Yuki appeared to be a normal school girl. A schoolgirl with an apparent mean streak that Usagi had been unlucky enough to encounter, but normal.

Usagi debated talking about it for a moment. She knew she couldn't avoid the subject forever. Eventually that was a story that was going to be told one way or the other, whether it be from her or from Yuki and her groupies. She still hated talking about it. Yuki and her groupies had hurt her while she had been still very vulnerable from the quake. Even if it had been more mental than physical it still hurt. "She just got me when I was vulnerable. That's all."

"Usagi if that was the only problem then you wouldn't be actively avoiding Haruka and Michiru." Setsuna pointed out. "I am not asking you to talk about all of whatever went down but maybe just a bit."

Usagi blew out a breath in frustration. She really didn't like talking about Yuki. But could it hurt to talk about it a little. She didn't have to tell Setsuna everything or much of anything today. But maybe sharing a bit would help… "She seemed so nice in the beginning."

Setsuna was a bit surprised. She had been hoping that Usagi would eventually feel comfortable enough to talk about Yuki but even with her lightly pressuring Usagi she hadn't sure if the girl would say anything today. Especially since it seemed that she still had difficulties talking about Yuki.

"There were a couple of guys, who when I first transferred to Juuban, liked to make rude comments about my condition. Naru and then Yuki were the only ones to call them out on their behavior. I lost a lot of friends that day. Both because of the death and destruction and also from having to move here. So I was lonely and looking to make friends at first. They made it difficult." Funny she hadn't thought about those guys in a long time. They had bugged her a bit when Yuki had pushed her out of the group but that had been over a year ago now. "Funny enough after Yuki ditched me they didn't pay me much mind. Well not really they bugged me some but eventually like everyone else it seemed they stopped paying me much mind."

"So you over heard her saying something that hurt?" Setsuna asked trying to get an idea on where Usagi might be going with this.

"If it had been just words I think it would have been easier. As is-" Usagi broke off there not really wanting to talk about the other aspects of the bullying yet. "Sorry."

"No it's fine if you want to stop there. I believe that is the most you've talked about this Yuki." Setsuna commented. It was true Yuki hadn't even come up in conversation for almost two weeks when Setsuna had taken over. Even then that had been just an in passing mention. It had taken closer to a month to get anything resembling details on Yuki. This was the most she had gotten out of Usagi about the girl.

"From what you're saying, your worried about getting deceived in a similar manner again?" Setsuna said after a moment drawing a conclusion from what Usagi had told her. It made some sense. At Usagi's nod Setsuna sighed. "Usagi they wouldn't deceive you in that manner." Setsuna tried to reassure the girl.

Usagi chewed on her lip, "I think I know that I guess I'm just afraid that knowing about this will have changed their opinion of me. It's just hard because outside of Naru and Yuki I don't have much experience positively in people reacting to my condition."

"No between the amount of time you've probably spent in medical offices outside of school and Yuki's group being the popular girls you wouldn't have had much of a chance to see a different type of reaction." Setsuna realized. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. That Usagi used Yuki as the gauge for how things might go. "If you want I can sit in if you think my opinion and knowledge would help." Setsuna offered after a moment. She didn't think Haruka and Michiru would change their view of Usagi before they knew. But if it made Usagi feel safer to have someone else who knew her medical background and medical knowledge…

"I don't know I need to think about it." Usagi admitted. Having Setsuna around wouldn't be a bad idea necessarily but the more factors that got added in the more overwhelming it got. Though there was another idea…. "If I don't ask you to come can I at least give them your number if they have questions?" Usagi asked after a moment. She knew it wasn't exactly typical protocol.

Setsuna thought for a moment. This would normally be going against everything she was supposed to do. But if it made Usagi feel more comfortable it might not be a bad idea. Plus it gave her another line to the Senshi besides Usagi since she still hadn't approached Luna outside of seeing each other in passing. "Go ahead just make sure they know to use the number only when needed." That shouldn't be a problem but still, to be sure, it was best left said.

* * *

"Did you get the letter in the mail?" Naru asked as soon as she picked up the phone. It was a day later and still no sign of the Dark Kingdom though the arrival of the mail had caused her to raise an eyebrow. What appeared to almost be a formal letter had come in from the Tuxedo Mask character she had only had one or two run-ins with apparently confessing his love to her.

"Hello to you too Naru. Yes, I did get the weird love letter in the mail." Usagi said turning to head back to her room. Trying to look for more details on the letter. No return address either yeah this stank of Dark Kingdom weirdness. She would have to ask Naru to ask Luna when she got back from patrol but this had to be a plot of Nephrite's. Though why he went the love letter route was a good question. Maybe a switch of tactics to throw them off?

"What's weird about it? It sounds romantic. Maybe he just saw you and love at first sight. That's a thing you know." Naru pointed out just about with hearts in her eyes.

"Yeah that's the thing. The weird thing isn't so much the fact that it is love letter." Usagi pointed out shifting her cell phone slightly so it was between her shoulder and ear before speaking again. "The weird thing is this guy has shown up a grand total of four times to help during the Senshi fights. The most infamous being Haneda where it would have looked really weird for him not to show up. Outside of the short encounters in the senshi fights I haven't had much contact with him. Then all of a sudden, he sends out love letters. This isn't romantic, it's just flat out weird. Then there's the fact that you and I aren't apparently the only people getting a letter from this 'Tuxedo Mask' judging by the radio announcement I heard…"

"So you're thinking it might be a trap." Naru said slowly with a slight pout.

"Most likely." Usagi sighed. "I mean it would be kind of cute if it was actually a love letter if a bit creepy. I have my serious doubts about that considering the nature of the situation. How did he find my address? Did he just start sending letters out to every middle school student in Juuban area because it sure seems like it."

"Maybe he had narrowed it down to our area but he couldn't figure out who it was?" Naru suggested but she sounded doubtful about it herself.

She paused for a second in thought. "That just seems creepy."

Naru made a non-committal noise at that comment before speaking, "So what are you going to do with it then?"

"I am not sure, to be honest." Usagi said putting the letter away. If things had been a bit different she might have just called the older girls…As it was with it being possibly a Dark Kingdom plot should she just go to the mall by herself?

"You're not going to consult the older girls?" Naru asked. Usagi could almost see her frowning slightly. "I still haven't talked to them since the bridal shop." She admitted playing with a loose strand of her hair. And this wasn't the way she wanted to start a conversation back with them after the fight.

"Usagi-" Naru said exasperation leaking into her tone.

"We've had this discussion a dozen times." Usagi pointed out clearly wanting to drop the subject.

"You can't use Yuki and her friends to judge how most of our age group will react." Naru pointed out for what felt like the millionth time.

"I know I shouldn't but sometimes it's just harder to convince myself of that." Usagi admitted.

"So what are you going to do?" Naru asked after a slight pause.

"I guess go to the mall. If it turns out to be a really weird ploy by the real Tuxedo Mask I might give him an earful at the next opportunity." She admitted.

"Shouldn't you tell them about this...?" Now Usagi really could practically see the frown on Naru's face. "It wouldn't be the first youma plot I took on by myself." She pointed out. Though it would be the first one Usagi had investigated all by herself since she had met Haruka and Michiru. She guessed she could text Sestuna for advice but that situation still felt a bit weird so probably not.

"And Luna? How are you going to convince her?" Naru asked.

"I'll think of something." Usagi shrugged. Though that might be easier said than done.

* * *

Despite her hesitations and Luna and Naru's protests, she ended up not telling the girls and going to the mall alone. Well, mostly alone. She frowned looking at her watch, it was getting late and there was no sign so far of the apparent Tuxedo Mask.

"Maybe it was just a hoax." Naru suggested from her seat at the food court table sipping a milkshake. She had tagged along more out of curiosity then out of interest in Tuxedo Mask.

"If it is it sure is an elaborate one." Usagi pointed out. She had seen at least a dozen girls carrying what looked like that letter. There were probably more at the mall that she had missed but those were the ones she had seen. And those were just the ones that had decided to show up. For being only a handful of people who actually knew to an extent who Tuxedo Mask was he sure seemed to be drawing attention.

"Well the mall is going to be closing soon, if he doesn't actually show up then we're going to have to write it off as a hoax." Naru pointed out.

"True." Usagi agreed. "What's he like anyway?" Naru asked after a slight pause.Usagi frowned making a face going over the past run-ins she had had with him before shrugging and saying, "Mysterious I guess."

"You guess?" Naru asked raising an eyebrow.

"Give me a break it's not like I've had a ton of interaction with the guy. The only one on one interaction I've really had was more of an argument than anything." Usagi said shrugging. All the other incidents with him had been around Haruka and Michiru and he had never really gotten close to her when they were around. "I'm starting to understand why you think this is creepier than anything." Naru confessed after a moment.

"Yeah. If I had talked to him, and I mean really talked to him maybe this would be okay. Or maybe just odd. As it is…" Usagi trailed off there listening to an announcement stating that was reminding them that the mall would be closing shortly before continuing. "As it is it not only comes off as weird but an extremely creepy move. I'm honestly kind of hoping this either an elaborate hoax or someone posing as him. It could be extremely awkward to continue working with him if this is a genuine move."

"Yeah, to be honest, I kind of am glad that I am not in your position right now." Naru admitted.

"No kidding." Usagi agreed. She didn't like having to deal with this situation herself, "Well if he doesn't show up before this place closes for the night I think we can write it off as an extremely elaborate hoax."

"But what if for some reason he's waiting for closing?" Naru asked.

"Then this just got a lot weirder." Truth be told that would be the most probable explanation. There weren't that many people left at the mall and not one of them was wearing a tuxedo. The girls she had seen carrying those letters had left a while ago.

"You should probably go home. If this does turn out to be a plot of the Dark Kingdom the fewer people that are involved the better." Usagi pointed out after a moment. "Text me when you get home." Naru said after a brief moment of hesitation getting up from the table they had been sharing. "Will do." Usagi said giving her friend a smile and waving her off. It shouldn't be much longer before the window of knowing whether this was a hoax or real closed.

* * *

Naru had made it almost out of the mall when she had run into him. Literally. So, caught up in her worry about Usagi and possibly handling Nephrite on her own she hadn't been paying as much attention as normal and ran straight into someone. "Oh my god I'm so sorry!"

Masato was dazed for a moment and then out of nowhere before he could respond a memory hit. It was an older memory, something from before he had become one of Beryl's generals, that much he could tell. But beyond that, he couldn't tell much else. There was a girl almost a woman really, with long curly red hair and looking out onto a lake from where they were standing. They seemed to be standing in some gardens, to what he wasn't sure. Whatever the place's name was he forgot and yet somehow was just off the tip of his tongue. Masato blinked for a moment in confusion and just as quickly as the memory came it faded. A red-headed girl, one slightly younger but bearing an uncanny resemblance to the one in the memory, was looking at him rather apologetic. "I am so sorry I somehow missed ya-"

"It's fine we all get caught up in our own worlds sometimes." Masato reassured her. He wasn't really annoyed, to be honest. Just curious about what had just happened. The girl didn't seem to be affected it so he hedged that he was the only one who had seen it. Still, the fact that any memory had surfaced could be cause to investigate and look into her more so, "I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going either I must admit. May I ask your name?"

"Naru Osaka." Naru introduced herself. "Your Masato Sanjouin right? The millionaire."

"Correct. Do you usually go running into strangers?" Masato asked. He wasn't surprised that she recognized his civilian identity. He had been going out more in it now that Jadeite had been put into eternal sleep and he was the one put in charge of getting rid of a certain pest problem.

"No sorry. I just realized my curfew was coming up and I needed to get home. I got too busy talking with a friend and so I was rushing." Naru partially lied. She had been talking with a friend but her Mom really didn't have a curfew she just needed to get out of there before the possible Dark Kingdom plot started.

"Happens to the best of us." Masato commented. Well, it didn't happen that much to him to be honest with being able to teleport at will but he certainly couldn't tell that to some random human. "I'm a bit behind myself because I was looking for new clothes. My secretary isn't going to be very happy with me when I get back to the office."

"I would think someone like you would have someone to be able to buy certain things." Naru muttered. He certainly had the money from what she had read.

Masato let out a chuckle in spite of himself. "I do but sometimes I prefer to do my own shopping. Besides this lets me take a look at the competition for my company."

Naru blushed slightly at that, "Sorry-"

Masato held up a hand before she could continue. "It's fine you're not the first nor the last to make a comment about that."

"Still sorry." Naru apologized again for the comment and running into him. Hopefully, she could make it out without running into anyone else. She knew Usagi had said she didn't want to get Haruka and Michiru involved but she did have Michiru's number. Maybe she should just go ahead and send the two a text so they were aware of the situation.

"Hmm well I must get going I have things to attend too. Maybe I'll see you around." Masato suggested. Though truth be told it wasn't much of a suggestion he wanted to know more of what he saw and that tied into his past without drawing attention from Beryl. For as long he could remember he had been serving the Dark Kingdom and only the Dark Kingdom. Sure, he had wondered about a life before, he was pretty sure he wasn't native to the Dark Kingdom after all. But for a matter of self-preservation, he had never really thought about the fact that he couldn't remember life before it. Bringing that up risked Beryl's wrath, and while he and the others were powerful Beryl was on another level. Even the name he had created had been for the sake of the Dark Kingdom. But what he had just seen, that place, it definitely hadn't been somewhere in the Dark Kingdom. Too brightly lit for one thing. If anything, the Dark Kingdom did live up to its name quite literally sometimes. Either way, it was a mystery for another time, time to see if he had managed to lure any of the Sailor Senshi to the mall with those letters. However, if this girl could play a key in unlocking his true memories he may have to find her again.

"Ya maybe." Naru agreed. She wasn't sure why the millionaire would want something to do with her. But she had to admit he had always seemed oddly familiar to her even when she had just been looking him up. So she couldn't deny the fact she wouldn't be opposed to seeing him again.

* * *

For a few minutes, for a few very brief minutes, it had seemed like that it was an actual hoax. The mall had started to close and there had been no sign of the man who she had come to know Tuxedo Mask.

That had lasted for a grand total of five minutes. She had been almost to the mall exit when she heard an escalator that had just been shut off whir back to life. Life could never be that simple for her could it, she thought as she stepped off to find a covered spot to transform. It might be just a straggling mall worker, but it was better not to take her chances given just why she was here, to begin with.

Sure enough, a brunette dressed in a Tuxedo started coming down the escalator a few moments later with her having already slipped into her senshi uniform. He smirked saying. "So you have come Sailor Moon."

"Yeah right I know that's you Nephrite you and your general buddies can dress up all you want. I'm still going to recognize you. Though I don't know how you know about him in particular." Sailor Moon said slightly rolling the eyes. She had no clue what the newest Dark Kingdom general was getting at but apparently, he was as bad at illusions as Jadeite had been from what the others had said if he hadn't been able to even look convincingly like Tuxedo Mask.

"So, you were able to pick up on my deception. Smarter then I pegged you." he said raising an eyebrow. Apparently deciding to ignore her comment about knowing Tuxedo Mask.

"It's not that hard really. You don't look that much like him. Wrong hair color and length just to start with." Sailor Moon mumbled under her breath. She stopped for a moment wondering just how she knew so many details about a man she had only interacted with a few times and for very brief periods for that matter. It made no sense, at best she should really have been able to realize they had two different lengths of hair yet the hair color and length were only a couple of details that had tipped her off to it being the wrong person. So why was she remembering so much more than that?

"Well, now that you're here I will take care of you." He said summoning some sort of weird lion youma in what seemed like a blink of an eye. That, that was definitely new. The only youma she had dealt with so far had been already working various jobs and her only encounters with Jadeite definitely had not involved summoning youmas. Oh, crap now the thing was lunging at her. Time to get out of here.

"How dare you use my name to summon Sailor Moon?" Never had she been so grateful to see Tuxedo Mask in her life. She didn't even register the youma had stopped chasing her briefly at first though she wasn't sure why. Maybe it got one of Tuxedo Mask's rose to the face? Or maybe it was confused at suddenly having two targets. Either way, she wasn't really complaining.

Nephrite growled. "Don't stop you foolish beast after them!" The youma decided to lunge after her again sending her running in the direction of Tuxedo Mask who was currently hanging outside a pair of elevator doors. Sailor Moon pushed Tuxedo Mask into it hoping that if they got in they could at least get away from the youma by closing the elevator doors. Only to lose her balance and instead stumble into the elevator after him hitting the floor as she lost her balance. She heard the doors slam shut behind them and the elevator whir to life. That wasn't good though she was distracted momentarily by Tuxedo Mask asking if she was all right.

"I'm fine thank you for the assistance." Sailor Moon said taking the offered hand getting to her feet before continuing. "What now?" She asked worryingly. They were trapped inside the elevator that seemed to be moving on its own free will and now that she was actually paying attention she could hear Nephrite rambling off that he was going to pancake them with the elevator. That was just quiet the  _lovely_  thought. Was she really going to die in an elevator after surviving the Tohoku Earthquake?

"There should be a door on top of the elevator that we can use as an escape route." Tuxedo Mask said eying the roof of the elevator. He seemed to find what he was looking for using a cane she hadn't even been really aware he had to begin with to create an opening before jumping out and then helping her out of it.

"So now what? Yeah, we escaped certain death but if we don't get off this crazy thing we might still die." Sailor Moon said looking around with worry. She wasn't sure how tall the mall was but they couldn't have much time left…

"We're going to have to jump for it." He said frowning looking up above them. She looked in the same direction spotting what he must be seeing a ledge. That seemed like quite the jump to reach, what if they missed and fell? She guessed it couldn't be any worse than being pancaked to death by an elevator but both thoughts were scary.

"Does the elevator go all the way up there?" Sailor Moon asked frowning slightly. "Probably not that is most likely a maintenance shaft. There should be enough of a pause though that we can jump and at least grab hold of the ledge and hopefully hoist ourselves out of this place." The unspoken what could happen if they missed or if the elevator stopped too soon was too obvious.

"Well, there's no other solution so on your count then?" Sailor Moon asked. He probably had a better idea of when they should jump then she did. She never did have great coordination.

He nodded as they could both feel the elevator starting to slow as they began to reach the top of the shaft. "One, two, three!"

Even with the help of an out loud count she still somehow managed to get off a beat sooner then he did and missed the edge of the ledge. Thankfully he had better reflexes and grabbed a hold of her before she fell to her death. Today just wasn't her day apparently.

"Wherever your partners are we could use a hand right about now." Tuxedo Mask commented trying to adjust his grip to better hold the ledge."Yeah well, you see…I didn't exactly tell them I was coming here." Sailor Moon confessed trying to find somewhere to look that wasn't him. For once she was actually hoping that Luna went behind her back and told the other girls about her plan.

"Seriously?" He asked finding a foothold stand on and pulling her up so she wasn't dangling so much.

"It's a long story." Was all she was going to say on the matter for now.

"Yeah well, you really shouldn't be alone. Seems like you in need of assistance with the youma attacks." He pointed out as he helped her get better leverage on his back.

"Hey, I don't need assistance every time." She argued. "You weren't there during the pet shop incident among other things and Nephrite's weird star youma summon thing took me by surprise."

"There was a pet shop youma?" Apparently, he had missed that plot entirely. "Yeah, you remember those wildly popular chinchellas weeks back now? That was another Dark Kingdom plot." Sailor Moon explained. "Why didn't you come with your fellow Senshi anyway?" Tuxedo Mask asked after a slight pause apparently choosing to ignore the missed plot.

"After the wedding shop last week they found out something I wasn't ready to talk about yet so I've been avoiding them since then. It feels stupid now but…at the time I guess I was afraid they wouldn't like me if they knew about it." She trailed off there. "That seems silly." she could practically see him raising an eyebrow even if he was facing the wrong direction.

"I guess it kind of is. But it's not like that I haven't had issues with making friends for what I feel is that reason." Sailor Moon confessed. "So you had something happen before that made you reluctant to open up to people. I'm not sure how this applies to your senshi you seem to have known them for a while now." Tuxedo Mask commented.

"Why do I have to keep saying this: the person I thought was a friend I had known for three months. Excuse me for having a slight trust issue with two people I've known barely for a month." Sailor Moon retorted. She was really getting tired of having this particular argument with everyone under the sun.

"Please tell me you have a way to reach them I'm not sure how much longer we can last up here." Tuxedo Mask commented apparently deciding not to push that particular topic. "I do." Sailor Moon said eternally thanking anyone who was listening up there for Luna having finally finished the communicators as she tried to adjust herself to access her wristwatch. "Not sure how easily or safely I can access it though."

"Of course." She heard him mutter.

"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't going to try. Only that it's not easy to access." Sailor Moon quipped.

Before she could really think about how easily she could open her wristwatch she heard the scraping of doors from in front of them. Hopefully, that was Haruka and Michiru and not Nephrite. Much to her relief, she felt them being pulled up and onto the floor of the maintenance shaft a few minutes later.

"Thanks." She muttered taking the offered hand and getting to her feet trying not to make eye contact with what she knew had to be two angry senshi.

"Uranus lets at least let our captive audience take off before we start this." Neptune said. Usagi glanced up in time to see Uranus shut her mouth with a click. Well, at least they gave her a minute before she had to deal with all of this.

"I'll let you three sort out whatever issues your having." Tuxedo Mask commented having apparently decided that backing away from the two mad older senshi was the best course of action. Before they could say anything, he backed away slowly and then rounded a corner and was gone.

"Okay now that he's gone-  _what were you thinking?_ If Luna hadn't called us because she was getting worried- _"_  Uranus hissed before cutting off apparently not wanting to continue that thought. But the tone drove the point home and caused her to involuntarily flinch backwards. They had every right to be mad, she knew that but she couldn't help the reaction.

"I kind of freaked out." Sailor Moon said after a short silence suddenly finding the ground very interesting. Was that a piece of dried gum there? Ew.

She heard Uranus mutter. "More than kind of."

"Stop dodging things and have a little faith." Neptune said grabbing a hold of her chin so that she had to look at both of them.

"Sorry." Moon said still refusing to really make eye contact while indirectly apologizing for both tonight and the other secrets she had kept again.

Neptune sighed seeming to realize they weren't going to get anywhere tonight and decided to shift topics. "It's pretty late as is it. Maybe we should continue this discussion after we've all had a good night's sleep? Would you be available to get together to talk about this or are you busy tomorrow?"

"No, I'm good to get together." Moon admitted. She was still nervous about having the conversation but it seemed like they were more mad that she hid it from them then anything else- Which was a good thing, in a way. She wondered to herself if Luna would let Naru come over for moral support if she asked. So far they seemed to be handling it okay but she wasn't sure if she could handle telling the story to be honest.

End Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN And that’s a wrap for this week. Chapter 11 will get posted on 3/30. Please remember to leave a comment or a review so I know you guys are enjoying the story or if you have questions.  
> Here’s a short preview for 11:
> 
> “I can’t help but be scared Naru.” Usagi said finally flopping down on the bed next to her longtime friend. “What if they don’t accept this?”
> 
> “Knock some sense into them?” Naru suggested earning a snort from Luna who had been just listening to the back and forth at this point.
> 
> “Naru!” Usagi said.
> 
> “I’m joking. But seriously if they hold your legs against you then someone should knock some sense into them.” Naru said crossing her arms. 
> 
> “I guess if we needed to we could try and start locating the remaining Inner Senshi but with the way things have been escalating I’m not sure how good of an idea that is.” Luna confessed.
> 
> “Wait I thought you thought that this wouldn’t be a problem.” Usagi crossed her arms frowning at that. Luna and Naru, with Luna mainly speer heading it, had been pushing her for weeks now to tell the others and had been insistent that it would all work out.
> 
> “I don’t think it will be a problem." Luna said shrugging her shoulders. 
> 
> “You two are worrying too much something that I’m betting won’t even happen. Don’t think about the worst case and how you might have to move forward from there until your faced with it.” Naru said shaking her head slightly.
> 
> See you on the 30th!


	11. Scopophobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone welcome to Chapter 11. Hope everyone's had a good week. I've been relaxing and enjoying Spring Break. So that's always nice.
> 
> Not much to say. Thanks again to tsukikageshi for betaing for me. Please remember to leave a review or comment after letting me know what you thought. And enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 11

Scopophobia

"It will be fine Usagi." Naru argued from her spot next to the bed. It was the next afternoon and they were waiting for the arrival of Haruka and Michiru. Luna had at first hesitated when she had asked about having Naru there but had eventually agreed that having her there for moral support wouldn't be the worst idea. Left unsaid was that she could also help supply certain things or fill in the blanks on details that either Usagi didn't remember or was reluctant to share.

"I can't help but be scared Naru." Usagi said finally flopping down on the bed next to her longtime friend. "What if they don't accept this?"

"Knock some sense into them?" Naru suggested earning a snort from Luna who had been just listening to the back and forth at this point.

"Naru!" Usagi said.

" _I'm joking_. But seriously if they hold your legs against you then someone should knock some sense into them." Naru said crossing her arms.

"I guess if we needed to we could try and start locating the remaining Inner Senshi but with the way things have been escalating I'm not sure how good of an idea that is." Luna confessed.

"Wait I thought you thought that this wouldn't be a problem." Usagi crossed her arms frowning at that. Luna and Naru, with Luna mainly speer heading it, had been pushing her for weeks now to tell the others and had been insistent that it would all work out.

"I don't think it will be a problem." Luna said shrugging her shoulders.

"You two are worrying too much something that I'm betting won't even happen. Don't think about the worst case and how you might have to move forward from there until your faced with it." Naru said shaking her head slightly.

"Well we don't have much more time to entertain any kind of scenarios. They're here." she said standing up. She had just heard the doorbell going off as Naru had made her point.

* * *

 

"Did you really not trust us enough to think that we couldn't handle what you were hiding?" Haruka asked finally breaking the silence. Usagi was slightly relieved to notice that she wasn't really mad just sounded disappointed. Though she felt kind of bad about that too…

"It's not really you guys." Usagi tried to placate Haruka. It was true it really was they hadn't done anything to make her not trust them. It was just a carryover issue from having dealt with Juuban for over a year.

Michiru frowned slightly, even with all the things she had picked up observing the other girl… "I find that hard to believe."

Naru broke in there. "She's actually telling the truth. Usagi has been dealing with some girls who have bullied her about her legs for some time now. Usagi thinks she has to hide this or be treated that way. Sometimes I just want to go take those girls and- It really wasn't anything against you."

Maybe Usagi wouldn't have had the same reaction if there had been more time between the quake and the Yuki incident as she and Naru referred to it as. As it was it was when she was still fairly early on in the recovery and probably had impacted her more because of that.

"That still doesn't explain how we got here in the first place." Haruka commented frowning.

"Haruka-" Michiru began in a warning voice.

"It's fine Michiru." Usagi said trying to placate the older girl. She had been prepared to answer that question. She was actually surprised that it was only coming up now. "Naru and I originally are from a small town just a few hours north of here. Naru moved down about three years back. I officially moved down with my parents in August of 2011 after the-." Usagi broke off there unable to continue. Why was it so hard to talk about it even now?

Michiru, however, was frowning slightly. The timing and old injuries were a little too coincidental, "The Tohoku Quake."

"But the quake was in March if that's why at the root of it all this happened why did you wait until August to move?" Haruka asked frowning slightly. It made sense sure that the quake was the cause of her injuries but the timing was a bit odd.

Usagi chewed her lip slightly before deciding to continue. She hated talking about those first few months the most but it was a legit question so there was no reason not to answer it. "I was in a coma. I was in bad shape for a while. It took a while before it was safe enough to move to Tokyo. They never were sure how I survived since-."

Naru thankfully picked it up there seeing that she couldn't continue talking. "Usa's younger brother Shingo died in the tsunami. They were together when it hit."

She could practically see the final puzzle piece slide into place at Naru's explanation. A lot of her behavior did derive from the regrets she had around Shingo's death both in and out of battle arguably. She couldn't remember that awful day, not really anyway, and part of her really didn't want too but not knowing if she could have saved Shingo always made it feel like it was her fault somehow that she had survived when he had died. It being a mystery that she had somehow survived didn't exactly help matters either. Though she had begun to accept that she probably would never know what had happened or why it was becoming Sailor Moon, as much as she liked to complain at times, had almost given her a new purpose that wasn't tied to Shingo. That helped.

* * *

It was a few hours before Haruka and Michiru finally got up to leave. Usagi had eventually exhausted herself out and had fallen asleep. Leaving the conversation more to Luna, Haruka, and Michiru since it was no longer in the corner where Naru could really say anything.

"Hold on!" Naru called jogging down the stairs in her house so she could catch them before they left. Coming to stop at the bottom step she said, "I just wanted to say thanks."

"You're welcome though I'm not sure what you're thanking us for." Michiru replied frowning slightly.

Naru shook her head slightly. They didn't know she surmised. "It's just nice to see Usagi finally having more people she can trust again. After Yuki she tended to get a lot more closed off around new people."

"That's good to know." Haruka said frowning slightly.

Michiru changed the subject slightly away from Usagi. "The girl, Yuki? Do you happen to know what her last name is?" Now that she knew for sure why Usagi had turned down her offer of help initially to get into Mugen Gaken. Anyone with two eyes could see Usagi wasn't happy at Juuban and she had a feeling at this point that Usagi wasn't asking because she didn't want to cause trouble. Plus she had a feeling having Usagi closer with her accidental tendency to attract trouble wouldn't be the worst idea. If she could get Usagi into Mugen Gaken she wanted this other girl on the list of people who could not be accepted. But she needed a last name for that. Admittedly she probably could look it up since it was a public school and that data should be available to anyone. And if not well she knew people who could.

"Sorry I don't know." Naru said making a face slightly. Yuki had never shown any interest in interacting with her outside of once or twice because of Usagi so it had been a bit of a shock when the girl's true colors had finally shown true.

"What did that girl do?" She heard Haruka mutter. That was a good question. When they had tried to pry lightly about further details on the Yuki incident Usagi had sidestepped the question. Naru hadn't been forthcoming about details and by the look on Luna's face she probably knew as much as they did about this Yuki.

"That's Usa's story. Its a long one and I'm not sure if I even have the full details." Naru confessed. That later part was actually a lie. She knew too well what hell Usagi had been put through by Yuki. Her mind flashing back to the one many times she had found Usagi in the bathroom stalls crying over the latest part of Yuki's reign. But it was true that the story was a long one and more Usagi's to tell then hers.

"Fair enough. Thanks for your time and for hosting us." Michiru said starting to turn

"Anytime. Thank you for helping Usagi." Naru said cheerfully before turning to go back up the stairs.

* * *

"Michiru um…. you know Usagi's not here at the moment, right?" Naru asked letting her in. Not that she minded seeing Usagi's other teammates but they usually only came by when Usagi was around. Outside of coming over to talk to Luna that one time. "Or Luna for that matter."

"Yes, I came by purposely now because of that." Michiru said. Usagi and Haruka were at the arcade that they seemed to have taken a liking to. So now was the best time to get Naru's opinion on a certain matter.

"Not that I don't mind you stopping by, your both welcome here, but why?" Naru asked frowning slightly.

"I wanted your opinion on a certain matter concerning Usagi. Your closer to her right now then Haruka and I are so I'm hoping you would have a better idea of what her reaction might be to an idea I have." Michiru explained.

"Which is?" Naru asked raising an eyebrow. She was kind of curious what in the world Michiru was asking her opinion on something.

"I was thinking about getting Usagi's application to Mugen fast-tracked so she would be starting in the spring. I'm a bit concerned on how she would react." Michiru admitted. Her gut said that Usagi would be okay with it but asking someone who would probably actually know was her way of hopefully putting her concerns at ease

"You know someone at Mugen's Admissions Office?" Naru asked a bit surprised. Usagi hadn't really mentioned much about Michiru's family other than mentioning the sister they were working with. And while she had gotten the idea that the other girl's family had connections in high places but this still kind of surprised her.

"Not exactly. My family has connections in high places. So while I may not know the people in Mugen's admission office to personally pull the strings to get her in I do have the connections needed to get them to admit her. I offered to get her off the waitlist the first time she brought up Mugen and she turned it down at the time. However, in hindsight, I'm wondering if her turning it down was less because she didn't want the help and more because she was trying to hide everything with the Tohoku Quake." Michiru explained.

"You're wondering how she would react if you used your connections to get her officially admitted." Naru realized. "I'm guessing if you're asking me you haven't made another offer again?"

"No, I debated it. I have a feeling if I offered again she would turn me down but more so because she doesn't want to cause problems for others." Michiru admitted.

Naru made a face. "Yeah, that's Usagi alright." Pausing for a moment in thought. "As for your question, I'm not a hundred percent sure since she still surprises me at times even after all these years. I think, though, she would appreciate it. She'll be embarrassed but she will be grateful too." Naru said after a moment. She might be slightly embarrassed at first but Usagi wasn't exactly the overly prideful type. When she hid stuff, it was usually because she didn't want to bother others not because of some sense of pride. And considering how much Juuban seemed to drag Usagi down and how worried she as about the upcoming school year she couldn't see the girl not being glad to just be out of there, to be honest. "Besides even if she did get angry. Usagi's not exactly the type to hold the grudge. Even if she did get made initially for your involvement for some reason I don't think she would stay mad for very long."

"And you're okay with her transferring?" Michiru asked. She was more being curious now than anything. With Naru's comments, she probably more than a bit supportive of it. But still good to ask.

"Usagi needs to get out of Juuban. Really needs to get out of Juuban. What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't?" Naru said pausing for a moment. "Actually, I might try applying anyway if Usagi is going to be moving there."

"That seems a bit sudden." Michiru mused. Naru and Usagi seemed close but she was still a bit surprised by the other's willingness to follow her.

"Not really. Mom and I looked at attending Mugen Gaken right after we moved to Tokyo a few years back. Mom decided after everything with Dad that starting me at a more normal school at first was probably better before moving into a private setting. Then after everything happened with Usagi and we knew she was moving to Tokyo priorities kind of got shuffled and I decided to stay at Juuban. The offer to try and test in was still open last I checked." Naru explained. Her Mom could definitely afford the fee so that wasn't a problem.

"Would you like an assist with getting in if you get waitlisted?" Michiru offered after a moment. Normally she wouldn't extend it but she was a close friend of Usagi's.

Naru blinked a couple of times. That was unexpected… "No, I think I should be okay with that. I wasn't trying for a specialized program like Usagi so as long as they haven't met their quota for the year with new students or something I should hopefully get in." If it came down to it she might take up Michiru on the offer. She would rather transfer in at the same time as Usagi then not.

* * *

 

"Naru tell Luna that I'm the last person that they would be looking for in a model contest." Usagi said to her friend as she came into the room. It was a day or two later and Luna was currently trying to convince her some new modeling contest was actually a Dark Kingdom plot. Haruka and Michiru were out for the afternoon having had a prior commitment to attend too. So it was just the three of them at Naru's place for the moment.

"Wait why are we talking about a model contest?" Naru asked frowning.

"Luna thinks one of the sponsors works for the Dark Kingdom." Usagi explained sighing while handing over the flyer. Luna was currently arguing that the head sponsor, a Masato Sanjouin, was actually Nephrite and that she needed to partake in the modeling contest. Admittedly from what she had seen of Nephrite before he did bear an uncanny resemblance to him. But she would be surprised if it was the same person.

"Masato Sanjouin? Why in the world would a hot billionaire want to or need to work for the Dark Kingdom?" Naru asked sounding kind of dumbfounded.

"You have a crush on him. You have his biography under your pillow and a poster of him on your wall. You'd likely know more about him than me. That doesn't change the fact he bears a strong resemblance to Nephrite" Luna pointed out frowning. She wasn't going to hold Naru to the same standard but she thought the girl had more common sense then let her own judgment get in the way of a possible problem.

"Maybe." Naru confessed handing the flyer back eyes shifting to the book sticking out from under her pillow.

Usagi let out a sigh turning back to Luna. "Look there's no way they are going to let a noticeably disabled person into a  _swimsuit_ modeling contest. I'll probably be laughed out the door." Plus there was the fact she wasn't even sure if her swimsuit had made it down to Tokyo. It wasn't like she had gone for a swim very recently.

"I feel like we should investigate it. If they don't allow you to enter then we should find another way." Luna said frowning.

"Doesn't Michiru swim a lot? Maybe she would be the better choice to infiltrate the contest." Naru suggested.

Luna frowned muttering. "Maybe..."

"Luna even if I didn't live with prosthetics Michiru would still be the better choice. As it stands, I do. My prosthetics aren't waterproof and I have no swimsuit and no desire to be in front of people in one." Usagi argued when she saw Luna about to open her mouth. Well, she did have a swimsuit somewhere. Buried deep in her closet but considering it hadn't seen any use since before the earthquake she wasn't sure how good shape it was in.

"All right I'll ask Michiru." Luna finally agreed after a moment. It seemed like she still wanted her to do the photo contest but hey if she agreed to Michiru then that wasn't her concern.

* * *

Thankfully Michiru had agreed that her competing was the most logical choice. But Luna being Luna had insisted that all three of them attend even if only one of them was competing. Not that Usagi disagreed it was a bad idea. But since her and Haruka weren't competing they didn't have the same kind of access Michiru had. So her and Haruka were hanging towards the back of the auditorium where most of the contest was being held. Since neither of them were actually participating in the contest all they could really do was watch and look for anything particularly weird. Everything was going great as far as they could tell up until the point she saw a familiar red head bobbing in the crowd.

"Oh my god Naru." Usagi facepalmed. She had told her friend to stay home since there was no way to know if this was or wasn't a plot by the Dark Kingdom. Apparently, her friend hadn't headed her advice.

"It's too dangerous for this." Usagi could hear Haruka's voice apparently catching sight of her too.

"She probably wants to see the sponsor up close in person. She has a thing for older guys for some reason. Heck, the whole reason she wanted to sneak into the concert the night we first met was because she wanted to see that jazz musician that was performing." Usagi confessed. She wasn't exactly sure why Naru fancied older guys but hey she wasn't going to really question it.

"Didn't you tell her that this might be a Dark Kingdom plot..?" Haruka asked confused.

"Oh no she knows. She was the one that suggested Michiru take part in this contest in the first place when I couldn't get Luna to understand that I probably wouldn't even be allowed into the competition let alone close enough to confirm if it was a plot." Naru was her best friend but sometimes she seriously questioned her decision making. She had been able to keep her away from quite a few youma plots so part of her wondered if Naru really realized how dangerous they could be. Yeah, she had been the victim of that first youma but most of the others she had gotten out of the area before she was in danger. Mostly. There was that other youma at the idol contest she had nearly forgotten about.

"Let's just hope we eliminate any trouble before it puts her in danger." Haruka said frowning. "Again." Usagi muttered under her breath. It had been her crush on the musician that had put her at the scene of the concert. And while she wouldn't completely complain about it since who knows how differently things would have gone if Naru hadn't dragged her there she still didn't like seeing her longtime friend getting wrapped up in youma plots.

"She might be safe Michiru hasn't given the signal yet." Haruka tried to reassure her.

"I hope so but then again with the Dreamland plot..." Usagi pointed out. Left unsaid being the fact they didn't see it until one of them was already trapped in the plot as a victim and the others had to rescue her...

"That's true sometimes these plots aren't the most obvious. The bus shrine incident was similar. We had suspicions but didn't have anything concrete until we saw Jadeite open a portal." Haruka explained.

"Okay, now I am really questioning how that didn't get more publicity." Usagi said to herself. She couldn't remember anything about disappearing busses. Naru was more of the conspiracy theorist then she was but it almost sounded like a cover-up.

"You said you were pretty busy with school." Haruka pointed out. "Yeah but even then, you would think I would have noticed something even with my nose buried in a book half the time." Usagi argued.

"We could always try asking the government guy." Haruka suggested with a bit of hesitance. "Do you think we would honestly get a straight answer out of him if they are involved in covering it up?" She turned to the older girl in skepticism.

Haruka made a face at that, "No probably not."

" _Sooo_  what is this signal you mentioned earlier if Michiru sees something suspicious?" Usagi asked deciding to move away from possible conspiracy theories.

"It's not something you would see." Haruka said waving off the question.

"What does that even mean?" she asked frowning.

"I'll explain later. Now's not the place or the time for that matter." Haruka said.

"Okay then." she wasn't sure why the older girl wanted her to drop the subject but she could tell that was what was wanted.

* * *

She never did quite get an answer out of the older girl about what the signal was. But a few minutes later Haruka tensed up and got the confirmation that yeah, they were dealing with a youma plot all right. Now came the hard part and one they really hadn't thought through, to be honest, getting to Michiru.

It had been surprisingly easy to get out of the auditorium and into the halls. But the problem remained of getting past security, and again, finding Michiru. Well, maybe the later wasn't too much of a problem since Haruka for whatever reason seemed to have a fairly good idea of what direction she was in.

"We should have snuck Luna in." Usagi said more to herself. If anything else turning the cat loose would distract the security guards really quickly. Also, it would have maybe stopped Naru from showing up to the contest. She looked down in surprise when she heard a clearing of the throat. Well, this was a stroke of luck. "Luna what are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"I snuck out when Naru left the house. I decided if I was out I might as well come check out the contest." Luna confessed.

"You didn't try to stop Naru!" Usagi asked a bit surprised. She would have thought that Luna would maybe have interfered.

Luna basically made a few comments under her breath that she didn't quite catch. Sounds like she had only found out Naru was even here when she had probably spotted her in the crowd. Usagi raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know she was coming out here?"

"No, she said she was going to run errands." Luna said shaking her head slightly.

"I thought you said she wasn't much of a liar." Haruka asked after a moment.

"No, but if she really wants something she can get rather tenacious at times. As I said earlier it was her idea to sneak into your concert." Usagi said frowning. She must really like this Masato if she was putting herself in the possible line of danger or confirmed in this case. She was going to have a  _long_  talk with Naru after today.

"We are sure that it is an actual plot by the Dark Kingdom correct?" Luna asked.

"Michiru was able to somehow tell Haruka that there was an actual plot involved." Usagi added.

"Really?" Luna asked raising an eyebrow turning towards the older girl.

"It's a long story." was Haruka's answer. Guess they were all going to be having a long talk after this.

"We really need to work on being more open with each other." Luna could be heard commenting.

"You're bugging me about not being more open after the whole thing with Usagi?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow. Usagi grumbled a bit but she knew the other girl had a point. If she hadn't made Luna wait on the subject they probably would have had the conversation they had a few days ago, a few weeks ago.

"Actually I called her out on it several times but it was part of the agreement when she first became Sailor Moon that she told you two on her own terms." Luna explained.

Haruka sighed after a moment. "I need to talk to Michiru about this. Telling you both involves her just as much it involves me."

"Fair enough." Luna said finally backing off a bit.

" _Anyway,_  we need to get to where the contestants are the problem is getting past the security." Usagi explained to Luna.

"Your hoping I can provide some distraction." Luna said more rather than asked.

"Precisely. If one of us did the distraction then only one of us gets to where the youma is." Usagi pointed out.

"All right I'm not sure if you'll both get past though." Luna argued.

"We have to try." Usagi said shaking her head. It was going to be difficult but that seemed to be the story of her life right now.

* * *

The good thing was Luna's distraction had been a success. The bad thing? Her and Haruka had gotten separated when one of the guards had spotted them at the last moment. So now she was lost wandering the halls. Trying to figure out where possibly Michiru or Haruka were.

"Usagi?" Usagi turned to see Naru. Oh thank god, she was safe and Naru might be able to point her in the direction she needed to go. Maybe her being in the contest wasn't the worst thing after all… "It's a youma plot." Naru continued making a face. Apparently, she was starting to associate her being places where she wasn't with youma plots. That could be a good or a bad thing depending on the situation.

"You knew that was a possibility. We had a whole conversation about what to do about the contest." Usagi commented shaking her head.

"I actually got to meet him!" Naru piped up excitedly. Apparently deciding to ignore the reminder that she had walked straight into a youma plot.

"That's great and I'm happy for you, really. Just maybe a bit more careful about chasing guys in the future? This is the second youma plot you've got caught up in because of a crush." Usagi pleaded. First, there was the jazz musician, which okay she couldn't complain about too much considering that was how she finally met Haruka and Michiru, but still. Now it was this crush she had on this billionaire.

"I know I'll try to be more careful in the future." Naru assured.

"Haruka seemed to know where we were supposed to be going but we got separated when trying to pass the security guards." Usagi said scratching her head.

"How did ya manage to get past them anyway?" Naru asked.

"Oh, Luna apparently snuck in without any of us knowing and we ran into her while trying to figure out how to get past security. She provided a distraction just one of the guards I guess was on higher alert then any of us anticipated. So all of us ended up separated." Usagi explained.

"Well I can't help you find Haruka but I can tell you where we were told to get our photographs it's not that far from here actually." Naru said pointing down the hallway and to the left. She could make out a door that probably was where the photographs were being taken.

"Thanks." Usagi smiled. Hopefully, she would run into the others girls there though she did have a question, "Wait if you are already at the photographing point why aren't you over there?"

"I got sidetracked and got separated from the group." Naru shrugged. Well, she couldn't really complain she would probably still be wandering the halls lost if she hadn't run into Naru.

"I would get out of here before things get messy." Usagi advised starting to walk in the direction Naru had pointed in. Though pausing after a second. Maybe she should find a place to transform before walking into a possible fight first.

"Yeah I got to swing by the locker room to get my stuff first and then I'll wait for you three outside." Naru agreed.

"See you soon." she waved off her friend. Well at least she knew Naru was out of danger. Now to see to the youma. "Here goes nothing." She gripped her transformation broach.

* * *

"MOON TIARA ACTION." Usagi yelled upon entering the photography room, tossing her tiara at the youma who managed to duck only for it to smack into the back of its head thing but not actually turning it to dust. Right Luna had warned that was a possibility oh well at least it seemed to have momentarily stunned the youma as she ran up to a Neptune who was sitting up now. Having dropped to the ground to dodge some energy blast as she was coming into the room. "Are you all right Neptune?"

"I'm fine she just took me by surprise." Neptune assured her using the youma's momentary confusion to their advantage and tossing one of her own attacks. It knocked it back a few feet but didn't turn it to dust. She frowned for a second before turning to Usagi, "Be careful she can capture people using that energy blast you saw me dodging when you got here. Where's Uranus?"

"We got separated when we ran into a problem with the security on the way here." Sailor Moon explained. Hopefully Haruka hadn't run into too much trouble when they been had split up and wasn't too far behind. "Okay besides the really worrying energy attacks what else is there to know about this youma?"

"It's built like a tank. My attacks are barely landing any damage." Neptune admitted as they quickly sidestepped another set of blasts from the youma.

"Combined attack then?" Sailor Moon suggested. That's how they had managed to take down the more troubling youmas in the past.

"Seems like the only solution." Neptune agreed powering up a Splash Edge as Sailor Moon reached up for her tiara. This was going to take some immaculate timing to make sure neither of them accidentally got caught in the cross hairs of the youma's energy blasts.

"Splash Edge!" Moon Tiara Action!" Came the simultaneous call as they tried to use a combined attack.

"Neptune!" Sailor Moon yelled paling slightly as she disappeared into the beam of light leaving only an old fashioned picture in her place. How had they missed the youma aiming and firing yet another beam attack? There had been an opening it had appeared safe. How could they have missed something so obvious? Had the youma managed to fire one beam on top of the other?

"SPIRAL BUSTER!" The loud very angry yell signaled Uranus had finally managed to track them down. Judging by the amount of anger she probably had seen what had happened but had been too late to act to prevent it.

Sailor Moon decided the best course of action for the moment was to stay out of both of their ways and try to find an opening to try and get her tiara to combine with Uranus's attack. Uranus was doing a good job with keeping the youma distracted. Apparently making Uranus angry somehow made her a slightly better attacker. Or at least able to power up a lot more quickly then normal.

Sailor Moon frowned for a moment glancing back between the two. Well technically the youma's picture thing was a form of energy blast. Her tiara had shown the ability to absorb energy from the other Senshi blasts maybe it could absorb the youma's blasts? Only one way to find out she thought removing the tiara. She let out a sigh of relief as the tiara absorbed a good portion of the energy (enough to take Uranus out of the danger zone) and then continued on its merry way since it hadn't actually made contact with anything. So it could absorb negative energy along with Senshi energy. That was a really good trick to know for the future.

"Hah! You missed." The youma declared turning her attention away from an angry Uranus at the moment. That was a mistake as Uranus took advantage of the opening to slam it with another Spiral Buster.

Incidentally Uranus's attack managed to knock the youma back straight into the tiara's attack as it started to come back her. The tiara's combined strength with the energy blast it had absorbed was enough to finally do the job it appeared as it made contact with the youma again turning it into dust. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw Neptune rematerialized looking slightly worried but otherwise okay.

"I'm fine Uranus." Neptune assured her getting back to her feet.

"What happened anyway? I arrived just as you got caught in the youma attack," Uranus commented frowning slightly looking back and forth between the two of them as Sailor Moon walked up.

"We were trying to combo attack the youma. It took advantage of the opening to capture Neptune." Sailor Moon said speaking up with some hesitance. She felt responsible for somehow not getting hit while Neptune had been. Even if that would have thrown a wrench in taking the youma down. At least Neptune looked like she was no worse for wear from being temporarily captured in the photograph.

"We both missed the fact it was firing that wasn't entirely your responsibility I should have been more careful." Neptune said cutting off whatever Uranus looked like she was about to say in response.

"So what do we do now. Most of the people in the contest appear to be out cold." Uranus commented glancing around the room. Sailor Moon followed her gaze and realized in her hurry to make sure nothing was wrong with Neptune she had missed everyone rematerializing from the photos that had been taking.

"We need to get out of here before the security tracks us down. I'm not sure how you were able to shake them Uranus. But they seem to be fairly decent at their job so I don't think it will be long before they track us down here." Sailor Moon said. Considering all the trouble they had had with security today maybe they should spending more time talking to that government official about IDs to get into places. That would have sure saved her and Haruka a lot of trouble and worry today.

"That is true." Uranus agreed making a face at the thought of having to deal with the security officers. Sailor Moon was kind of curious how she had finally ditched the security but that was a question for another time.

"We should probably split up and meet up again outside just in case. We can meet up again once we are back outside and have no worries over security." Sailor Moon said making a move for the open door hoping they would follow and take her queue. She would rather not split up at all considering who knew if Nephrite wasn't planning more trouble. But if they got caught by security they might have bigger concerns. AS she reentered the hall and made a sharp right and sprinted away from the contest was being mainly held she heard what sounded like a security person yelling for them to stop.

* * *

It had been easier then she had expected to lose the security guards that she had heard following her and find a spot to drop the henshin. She thought she was home free until she ran smack dab into someone else. "What is with today?!" Usagi muttered rubbing her nose.

"Sorry Odango didn't see you there." Came a familiar teasing voice.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." Usagi grumbled taking the offered hand. She had fallen on her butt when she had run into the guy yet again yet still managed to be and appear so angry one could imagine flames burning behind her.

"Yeah you have. What are you doing here? Your certainly not dressed like you're doing the competition." He commented.

"I'm not a friend of mine is." Or was since once things settled Michiru was going to slip out.

"Then you really shouldn't be back here." He said raising an eyebrow.

"I took a wrong turn and got lost." She fudged an excuse. Not exactly a lie either she was lost it just wasn't the reason she had ended up back here.

"Fine since you don't have much in the sense of direction Odango I'll make sure you get back in the public area." he said turning to lead the way.

"Why do you keep calling me that anyway? I've told you before I dislike it." Usagi asked after a slight pause.

"It's not like you've ever given me a name to actually call you." He said glancing back at her raising an eyebrow.

"I -" She broke off after a second realizing he was actually right. She could have sworn she had mentioned it before but no she actually hadn't. Though now that she thought about it. "It's not like you gave me one either."

He seemed to think for a moment before making a huh noise and turning to her fully extending his hand. "Fair enough, Mamoru Chiba."

She blinked a bit. Honestly she wasn't sure what she had been expecting but actually getting the name hadn't been on the forefront. Breaking out of her surprise she shook the extended hand. "Usagi Tsukino."

"So what is the deal with the hatred for the nickname anyway if you don't mind me asking?" Mamoru asked as they started moving again.

"My brother used to call me that. He's dead. It's all I have left of him." Usagi explained.

"Oh." he made a face for a moment before seemingly balking at himself. "I am so so sorry. If I had known-"

"You didn't. Next time someone tells you to stop calling them something maybe you will." She commented with a shrug. And she may have slightly over reacted in hindsight. But it was hard not too considering the emotional attachment to the nickname. She wasn't entirely all right with it considering she had asked him before to stop but yeah she might have been over the top a few times with the nickname. Plus there was something about Mamoru that seemed to get her worked up.

"What did you mean by if you had known anyway." She asked frowning slightly. Quite a few people had made comments like that but something about Mamoru's tone when he had started the sentence tipped it off to being just a bit more than an apology.

"I lost my parents as a kid. I can't remember anything before the crash. Doctors seemed to think it would return in time but its been over 10 years and I can't remember anything. I've given up at this point. I may not have anything to cause a similar sentiment for me but I can at least understand it." He admitted.

"That has to be difficult." Usagi said. She may have lost Shingo but she at least had the memories of him to look back on. To not even have that would have made things a lot more difficult.

"Wait so is Mamoru Chiba your actual name?" She asked after a moment. If he couldn't remember anything from before the car crash then how did he know if it was his actual name.

"Yeah it is just because I couldn't remember who I was didn't mean they didn't have a way of identifying me and getting in touch with my parents next of kin." He explained. "Well at least you have family around you. Do you live with them?" Usagi asked.

"No I live by myself. My aunt lives to the south of here in a more rural area. I came to Tokyo to attend a preparatory high school for when I go to college to become a doctor. I still go back during vacation time. I am actually going to be headed back to see her in a few days." He confessed.

"Wait your in high school?!" Usagi asked in surprise. For some reason she had always thought he was older.

"Just finished up first year." He said. "What about you?"

"Just finished what's supposed to be my eighth year." She said.

"Supposed to?" He asked frowning slightly. "Does this deal with that test you threw at me?"

"More with school administrators and a bad teacher being a problem than anything else but technically yes." She answered.

"Have you tried-" Mamoru began.

"I appreciate the help but I've tried just about about everything so the answer to whatever you were going to probably ask is yes I've almost certainly have tried that. I may have tried it multiple times in fact and will try it again in the new year. Right now I'm just worried they are going to hold me back. I'm not sure if I can take another year of that teacher." Usagi grumbled the last part more to herself.

"Sorry." He said realizing he had touched a sore spot.

"No it's not your fault. Its just been dragged out so long at this point." She said shaking her head slightly. She wasn't mad at him really. She probably would have asked if the situation was reversed. She was just tired of having this revolving conversation about school.

"You know its kind of funny since we both know Motoki that neither of us thought to ask him about the other." she said after a momentary lapse in conversation. Okay so she might not go as much to Crown Arcade as Naru but she did go fairly often to know Motoki. And considering she knew the two knew each other that would have solved the whole name issue quickly. But then again up until today she hadn't really thought about the fact she didn't have a name for him.

"Huh," Mamoru said as they stepped through a door into a crowded foyer. "Yeah that is kind of interesting. Or that he didn't volunteer the information."

"Something to ask him about next time we're at the arcade." Usagi said shrugging her shoulders. Admittedly she hadn't hung out with Motoki enough to think of it. But Motoki and Mamoru had seemed like good friends so the fact that the info had been volunteered was interesting.

"Anyways you should be good from here on out. I need to get back to the backstage area and see what's gotten the whole security in such a conniption." He said frowning slightly.

"Thanks for the escort." Usagi said meaning it. It had been nice to go the rest of the way back without having to worry about the security. "See you around the arcade?"

"Yeah see you around." he said waving a farewell before disappearing back the way they had come.

End Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week. Please remember to review or comment. 
> 
> See you on the 13th!


	12. At The Water's Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Update 4/20: I can see repeat views on the view count so hopefully you guys read this. LEAVE A REVIEW. I just got done with a 3 day migraine, two exams, and I now have to get started on a group project. I could really, really use some motivation right now. I have no clue why no one stopped to leave a review this time. But guess what? If I don't get reviews I don't have a clue how you guys actually feel about the chapter. And that hugely demotivates me as a writer. On top of everything else. 
> 
> I just...reviews make my day. I've had a rough week. And the fact no one outside of my beta (who I love don't get me wrong) has dropped a review, including the regulars I am used to seeing it from. Really doesn't help me write more chapters. So please leave a review!
> 
> This especially hurts since 12 is the longest chapter to date and I put a lot of effort into it. And I have no clue if the lack of reviews is because people didn't like it or what! Just take a minute and review. 
> 
> I won't hold the story ransom. I'm not that type. But this isn't helping me right now. 
> 
> Hey everyone welcome to Chapter 12! Hope everyone is having a good April. It's been a productive week on my front having finished around 4 chapters in the span of it. Partly due to how I work on this story.
> 
> Anyways you guys know the drill by now. Please leave a review or a comment even if its something silly. It was seriously awesome that I got six of them for the last chapter. Seriously you guys made my day repeatedly by doing that.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing the fic.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 12

At the Water's Edge

"A trip to the beach..?" Usagi hesitantly confirmed while frowning a couple of days after the camera contest incident. It was still spring break and they were discussing a possible vacation together for bonding purposes. While Luna had been initially reluctant to sign off the idea she had eventually agreed that it was a good idea and that Tokyo shouldn't fall if they left town for a few days, or rather in this case a week.

"My family owns a house near the beach. No one really lives there most of the year outside of the occasional vacation. The groundskeeper who maintain the house live in the nearby town only coming by to check that it is maintained and to keep everything up to par." Michiru explained.

"Any neighbors?" Usagi asked. She really didn't care how private or public the place might be, to be honest, she was just curious. Though if it was more private then they could talk more openly about almost anything without worries about the wrong person overhearing.

"Just a small hotel down the road. The nearest town is about 20 minutes from the house so it's pretty quiet." Michiru explained.

Usagi chewed on her lip slightly not sure what to think. It sounded nice but she also hadn't gone anywhere near the beach since the earthquake. "It sounds nice."

"I'm sensing a 'but'." Haruka noticed raising an eyebrow.

Usagi chewed on her lip and nervously fidgeted with one of her long streamers of hair before speaking. "I just haven't been down to the ocean really since the quake. The last time I really got anywhere near open water was when we went to check out Mugen Gaken."

"If its too much for you-" Michiru began seeming to realize that she was still having difficulties with certain things. "No." Usagi said shaking her head slightly making up her mind. "I can't keep dodging it forever. It would be good for me personally to get back to the beach." Her and Setsuna had been working on her fear of going in the water. Being near the ocean shouldn't be a problem. It wasn't so much she was afraid of the beach as much as she was afraid of the idea of being in actively moving water. Going in the ocean might still be too much for her to handle but she was pretty sure she could handle being on the sand at least. Maybe if she was having a good enough day she could go in the ocean but that was impossible to say for sure at that point.

"If you're sure then I'll go ahead and call to make the arrangements?" Michiru asked pulling out her cell phone.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Usagi said nodding her head with more confidence than she really felt at the moment. She needed this trip, she knew that. Besides if it became too much she could always withdraw to one of the houses inner rooms. Michiru made the place sound big enough that if she needed too she could find someplace that she could forget there was an ocean just outside the door.

* * *

"I'm kind of surprised, to be honest, that you agreed to go. Considering your still working on that whole fear of moving water." Naru said to Usagi the following day. They were hitting the mall trying to find a swimsuit Usagi liked. She had been able to find her old swimsuit from before but now it was too small for her and had some holes in it. So off to the mall it was to find a swimsuit. Usagi doubted that she would get far enough in the water to really need it. But considering she was going to the beach she felt she should have the appropriate beach wear. So they were picking up beach supplies.

"I was a bit hesitant about it at first. Being that close to the ocean again kind freaked me out. Because yeah I am still working on that fear of open moving water. However, considering we do live on a giant island I can't go the rest of my life avoiding the ocean. At least not easily," Usagi admitted with a sigh. At least if she did her first real trip back to the ocean with Haruka and Michiru she knew she would be around people that wouldn't get after her for possible overreactions. "Sorry, you can't come along. Michiru made it sound like it was Senshi only and I didn't feel comfortable asking permission for you to tag along."

"It's fine besides will have plenty of time to hang out when you get back from the beach." Naru said waving off the concern. "Plus really your closer to them then I am at this point. I think I would end up feeling more like a 3rd wheel, well I guess actually 4th, if I tagged along."

"That is true. It's funny though we've all known each other about the same time but they seem to trust me and Luna more than anyone else they've known for about the same period." Usagi commented frowning.

"I think that's because there's some inherent built-in trust between you three just because they're your teammates. Even if I am a frequent host for meetings since Luna lives at my house. We're still more acquaintances than anything at this point." Naru said shrugging.

"Still..." Usagi Trailed off frowning. If that's the case then the same trust should have been applied to Pluto and yet for whatever reason Ms. Setsuna tagging along hadn't been brought up. Though knowing Ms. Setsuna it was a 50-50 chance that she would actually come along if she was invited considering her track record so far.

"You know if you're actually going to have to pick up some covers for the prosthetics if you actually want to go in the water." Naru said changing the subjects draping the swimsuit she had ended up picking out over her arm while she waited for Usagi to finish up her own picks.

"I know I've asked Setsuna to have some ready for me to pick up at the last session before our beach trip." Usagi explained.

"Is she not coming along?" Naru asked frowning. Apparently thinking if she was going to get them from Setsuna that the oldest team member wasn't tagging along.

"We don't know so I'm just assuming its the three of us plus Luna." Usagi admitted finally deciding on a swimsuit. Nothing over the top like her old one. It was just a replacement that wouldn't probably see much use, to be honest. Though now that she thought about it Luna hadn't looked that enthusiastic when she had brought the trip up, so it may be just the three of them in the end.

"That feels a bit odd. You would think if they were making this a bonding trip they would invite her too." Naru admitted frowning.

"They did. Setsuna didn't give an answer and given her track record we just assume it's a fifty-fifty chance." Usagi explained. In fact, she had seemed pleased that Usagi had accepted it.

"Still she is one of you guys it wouldn't have hurt to talk about her coming," Naru commented frowning.

"I think there's more to this get together then just bonding so to speak. There's another thing that they promised to explain to us at the beach house. I have a feeling they aren't comfortable yet to talk about whatever it is in front of Setsuna yet and I think maybe she knows. I just get this feeling." Usagi explained.

"Shouldn't anything that might affect your fighting be talked as a whole group?" Naru asked in confusion.

"Yes. They've been very accepting of me. Still, they are still fairly private people." Usagi said shaking her head before continuing. "A lot of questions were raised after the photo contest because Haruka was able to track Michiru down without the communicator. When Luna and I tried to ask about it she refused to elaborate. Luna then complained. So I'm thinking that might be one of the things we're talking about there. And while I might know Setsuna fairly well they don't." And Usagi also suspected this was the reason nobody was pressing Setsuna to come with them. If they were still having issues talking with her about whatever it was after having known her for close to a month and a half. She couldn't imagine them feeling comfortable talking to Setsuna about it. While she had gotten to know Setsuna in civilian form fairly well outside of battle. Haruka and Michiru had only limited contact with the other senshi and thus less reason to trust her.

"Looks like there's going to be a lot of story swapping and not just on your end." Naru said raising an eyebrow.

"Seems that way." Usagi agreed grabbing the last thing she needed, "All right I think we're good now. Let's get out of here before the evening crowd hits.

* * *

"Hold on I have something for you. " Luna said after they got back to Naru's house. Usagi was spending the night there because it would be a quicker drive from there to Michiru's place than to have them swing by her apartment. So Usagi was shifting around the things she had bought into the bags she was packing when Luna had come up putting a compact down next to her.

"What's this?" Usagi asked frowning picking it up. It was a fairly simple compact mirror, gold in design with a silver crescent moon on the top of it.

"It's called the Moon Compact. It purpose pretty much is to heal people of negative energy, people possessed by youmas things like that. Normally I would have waited till you had more training but I have a feeling you're ready." Luna explained.

"That's great but how do I use it?" Usagi asked frowning slightly looking it over a bit. It looked pretty normal but if it was like her tiara then it probably didn't activate unless she used keywords and was targeting something related to the Dark Kingdom.

"Say 'Moon Healing Escalation'. You would point the mirror at the intended target and it would do the work from there. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the same range as Moon Tiara Stardust since its a stationary object but it is more powerful than the tiara. Just be careful not to overuse it. It takes more energy to use as well." Luna explained.

"That's kind of annoying and dangerous," Usagi muttered to herself slipping it into her bag. With Stardust, she was able to still move around. This sounded like she had to remain in one spot and left her open for attack while also being more drained which could make it harder to defend herself if she was targeted because she'd left herself open to use it.

Luna shook her head slightly. "Attacks and spells like these are a prime example of why Senshi work in teams usually. That way the one using the spell doesn't get hurt trying to perform it."

"That makes sense. So are you sure you don't want to come along?" Usagi asked Luna taking the offered compact and putting it in the bag.

"I'm sure." Luna said.

Usagi said shrugging her shoulders it was ultimately Luna's decision to go or come but still... "I think Haruka and Michiru were finally going to explain the whole thing at the camera contest. Are you sure you don't want to be there for that conversation?"

Luna hesitated a little at that. "I would prefer to be there for that but I'm planning to use the time to possible investigate the Dark Kingdom. I'll have to get the story from them one way or the other once you've returned. If I can find where they will strike next maybe I can make things easier on you girls."

"Okay." Usagi agreed. Just due to the nature of the plots most of the time they were having to react to them and not getting ahead of them. If they could find a way to get ahead of them that could prevent a lot of damage in the long run. "Thankyou Luna." She decided to say after her thinking, smiling at Luna gratefully. "Just don't overdo it alright?"

Luna shook her head. "I know my limits." Concerned she continued. "What about you? Will you be alright around the ocean after everything?"

"I'm going to have to." Usagi simply stated. She was too far committed to the trip at this point not to be.

* * *

"Michiru..." Usagi was terrified looking at the dark-colored building overlooking a cliff. 'Please tell me that isn't her house!' she thought frantically before trying to relax. It probably wasn't since Haruka wasn't making any turns, but it was the first place they had seen in a while thus the comment. Probably to anyone else it would have been nice, well maybe a bit run down but still, for her…it looked like a death trap. This trip was going to be difficult as is without staying on a cliff.

"Oh, that's the neighbors I told you about." Michiru assured her. "They might invite us over for dinner since they don't get much in the way of guests in the offseason but other than that we won't be going up there."

"That's a relief." Usagi said sinking slightly into the car's seats. That place looked like it had everything she didn't want.

"Sacred of the old run down building Usagi?" Haruka teased.

"I didn't like heights before the quake. That's heights and water. During the tsunami such houses, you could see them fall into the water easily." Usagi said. They had gone over a couple of her fears before it shouldn't be a surprise she wouldn't want to be staying somewhere like that.

"Sorry." Haruka said seeming to have realized she had touched a sore spot.

Usagi shook her head. "Looks almost like a haunted house." Usagi commented as they went past.

"It is supposedly haunted actually according to the local lore." Michiru added. Well, that wasn't a pleasant thought.

"Yeah, legend has it that some maiden died here waiting for her lover and if you look close enough-" Haruka began only to get cut off.

"Cut it out Haruka you're scaring her." Michiru scolded noticing as she started sinking further into the back seat. She didn't believe in ghosts, well not really but that didn't mean the supernatural still kind of creeped her out. Especially since she had become Sailor Moon. Even if her tolerance for it was much higher nowadays with everything they dealt with as being Senshi.

"Don't overthink it too much Usagi. Most of the stuff in those legends are old wives tales to get kids to listen to their elders. In this case, it was probably used to keep kids away from the cliffs." Michiru tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, I get that. But the house's atmosphere isn't helping it look like it isn't haunted." Usagi said after a moment. At least that wasn't Michiru's place. She may have hitchhiked her way back to town to be honest if it had. It was going to be hard enough being back at a beach after all this time without having the house hanging over the ocean literally.

* * *

Usagi had been pleasantly surprised when she had realized how far set back from her room from the beach was. She hadn't seen where the other's rooms were but she suspected they were probably closer to the back of the house closer to where the beach was versus her room was closest to the front of the house.

"This is the furthest room from the beach." Michiru explained coming into the room. "I figured all things considered you would be the most comfortable here than closer to the back of the house."

"Yeah, I really appreciate it. Can't get away from the beach completely of course but putting a bit of distance does quite a bit to calm my presence of mind." Usagi admitted. She couldn't even see the beach from the room's window. If she didn't know better it would have been almost like there weren't at the beach. It was a little thing but it was funny how much it meant to her.

"What are these?" Haruka asked picking up one of the waterproof covers she had packed. Right those would look a bit odd to someone not familiar with them.

"Water protectors for the prosthetics. I'm not even a hundred percent sure I'll make it off the beach sand but I brought the right equipment if I do decide too. I didn't get the waterproof type when I was given my choice of prosthetics. Because at that time I wasn't sure if I was going to get in water where I would need them for a long time if ever. So I have to wear a cover over them if I want to go in the water." Usagi explained seeing Haruka giving her prosthetics an odd look. She wasn't that annoyed by it. Neither of them had seen them that much so far and neither of them probably had enough knowledge of the prosthetics to know the strange little particulars. Like the fact that not all of them were waterproof and needed to be covered if worn when going into the water.

"Huh, I guess I always thought any of them could go in the water." Haruka admitted.

"Yeah, it's a little thing not a lot of people know about." Usagi agreed. "When I got these I didn't get the waterproof variant because at the time I didn't think I would ever go in the ocean again."

"You're afraid of water?" Michiru asked frowning slightly. Honestly, she had thought when Usagi had mentioned a fear of the ocean she had met the beach more than the ocean. But this sounded a lot more like hydrophobia then thalassophobia.

"Moving water." Usagi corrected. "I can handle baths and showers for the most part. But I have a harder time being near actively moving water like rivers and oceans. Ms. Setsuna's been working with me on and off on my good days with the fear or else I probably wouldn't have come. I still have a ways to go before I'm completely comfortable around open, moving water. But I am slightly better off then I was before I started." Usagi explained. The worst had been in the immediate recovery phrase after the quake. Getting her to take anything other then a shower had been almost impossible. Of course, there had been nurses to help at that point but that was beside the point. It had taken months before she moved past the feeling of not wanting anything to do with water but as time progressed she had gotten better. And Setsuna walking into her life had really helped with the healing progress among other things. Anyways she continued. "Anyway, I am going to try and go in if I feel up to it. I wouldn't have brought them along or agreed in the first place if I wasn't even thinking about trying it."

"I'm still kind of surprised she turned down the invite. Especially since you're the one that extended it to her and you know her best." Haruka said frowning slightly.

"Actually, I don't really know her that well outside of senshi/doctor stuff that well. Yeah, we meet to talk about me, not about Senshi duty or her for that matter. On a personal level I don't know her that much better then you guys do when I think about it." Usagi said shrugging slightly. Yeah, she technically had been around Setsuna the most but those were for the appointments. Appointments that revolved around her not Setsuna so on a more personal friendly level she really didn't know the group's oldest member all that well when it came down to it. Maybe they should try fixing that when they got back to Tokyo.

"For only having met her on a professional basis you seem comfortable with her." Haruka said raising an eyebrow. She hadn't seen the two together that much but the night at Haneda Usagi seemed fairly comfortable around Pluto all things consider.

"She's good at her job. Not sure if that's because of her other job or if she's just in general good at it. Not complaining though. Especially after how long it took me to find anyone that I felt was doing a good job with me. Besides she is my therapist technically it wouldn't be a good idea to be at least somewhat comfortable with my therapist." Usagi said shrugging. The lack of comfort was partly why it had taken her to find someone. Though maybe that had been fate's way of guiding her to Setsuna.

* * *

It was midday the next day before Usagi wandered onto the beach for the first time since they had arrived. She had intentionally picked the time. It was shortly after lunch and it was a few hours away from when the quake had originally struck. So she technically shouldn't start to associate being out there with what had happened that day. At least not at first. She would probably have to retreat to her room in the afternoon but for now, this was surprisingly okay.

"Usagi?" Michiru said coming out onto the beach seeming to be a bit surprised to see her. Right she hadn't mentioned her plans over lunch. Well, truth be told she hadn't done much talking during lunch. She had spent most of it poking her lunch and trying to convince herself that it wouldn't be too bad to go out onto the beach. At least she had been successful on one front now to see if she could make it two for two and actually get in the water.

"Thought I would try coming out here." Usagi gave Michiru a slight smile that felt more forced than anything.

"Usagi I know you said you would be fine but if you don't want to come out here-" Michiru began, there had been a reason why she had given Usagi the room that was the furthest away from the beach. The trip had been to bond, while it was easier to do so when Usagi was spending more active time outside of her room she wasn't going to force her too. It was quite obvious that Usagi was still healing from that day. She gave credit to the girl for even making it out onto the beach based on what they had gotten from Naru.

"No. I'll be fine." Usagi broke in shaking her head. She wasn't sure how far in she would make it today if at all. Her goal by the end of the trip was to at least have made it far enough in that she could arguably touch it with her hands if she wanted. Though probably the first day she wouldn't make it past ankle length if in it at all. She should be fine at first if she stayed in the water where it was low enough that it didn't come up to the end of the prosthetics. Maybe in a different time, she would have imagined the waves lapping over her feet. But as it was even trying to go down that rabbit hole brought a surge of fear. Looked like she was definitely going to be staying in the shallow end of the beach today.

"If you're sure." Michiru said frowning slightly moving to sit down on the sand finally.

"I'm sure." Usagi reassured her. It took several minutes of mainly staring but she managed to actually get at the very edge of the waterline where it lapped up onto the beach but found it difficult to move forward. She couldn't even feel the water that was just around the bottom of the feet. A price she had paid when she had lost her legs. She thought since she couldn't feel the very thing she feared she would handle it better but on the contrary that actually made it worse as her heart jumped into her throat and her body froze. Why was it that she was so afraid of something she couldn't even feel?

Michiru let out a slightly annoyed sigh before getting up from the beach towel. Though truth be told she wasn't annoyed by Usagi's reaction as much as she was by the fact the girl still refused to ask for help. It was obvious, to her at least, the girl could use a hand.

"I don't want to bother you." Usagi began as Michiru walked up to her seeming to sense her intentions.

"Usagi I wouldn't be out here with you if I wasn't sure I wanted to help." Michiru gently chided. She still wasn't sure why the girl seemed to think asking for help was being a bother. She suspected that it tied back to that Yuki girl that had been mentioned but since neither Usagi nor Naru had gone into details about that it was impossible to say. Hopefully one day they would get the full stories there.

"Sorry." Usagi said.

Michiru held up a hand to indicate it was fine before lowering it and taking Usagi's saying. "How do you want to approach this?" Usagi focused on the sound of Michiru's voice, eyes, and the present, hoping this would help. It did. Her hands in Michiru's, her voice over the waves. Warm hands, not cold. Not dead. Eyes full of life and kindness. Safe. Her shoulders slightly relaxed where she'd been frozen in place before. Acutely aware of Haruka silently watching over them nearby. Both women's presence warm and safe to her even as she faced down her fears within the waters that took everything from her.

"Let's just have you guide me in slowly. I'll let you know if I have to stop." Usagi decided. Thus began the slow process of going through the water. They would walk a few short steps and stop when Usagi would indicate that she didn't want to go on. More than once they just stood there for a few minutes before Usagi was ready to move again. They made it pretty far in actually for Usagi. Almost halfway up the calf part of the prosthetics before Usagi seemed to freeze for a moment and then bolted back to the beach. Well, that might not have been the way she was intending for it to end but she had made it further in than Michiru had thought she would be able to tolerate. Further than she herself thought she'd ever have made it at this point actually.

"Sorry." Usagi said as she finally finished catching her breath. That had been going well up until a certain point and then suddenly she had had mentally had more then she could take.

"Don't apologize Usagi you did well considering you haven't been back in the ocean since the quake." Michiru said following her back out of the water. There wasn't anything to apologize for. Honestly, Usagi had made it further in before dashing back to dry land then she thought Usagi would be able to tolerate. She knew the other girl couldn't feel the water but it obviously didn't matter to her brain.

"I wish this was easier." Usagi let out a sigh closing her eyes for a second trying to remember what it felt like before she had such a fear of the ocean. Once upon a time when she was still a kid she had found peace with being at the beach. That of course seemed like ages ago now. Maybe someday she would be able to find that again.

"There's a reason fears are the way they are. If we could simply think them away everyone's life would be a lot simpler." Michiru reminded her gently. "Considering you haven't been to a beach since the quake, what you did admirably."

* * *

That evening Usagi sat on the porch yawning slightly looking out into the forested area. It was funny for not having really done much she was really drained. Guess facing your fears did that. Her mind drifted at that. In her exhaustion, she had not the energy to keep her thoughts on an iron leash. For a moment she could almost hear the screams once more. Within her mind, they replayed mercilessly. Her own, her brothers, the screams of people she knew and did not all mixed in soul gripping terror until one scream could not be told from another. Just like that day. Flashes through her mind. Shingo's hand in hers. Slipping away as she screamed. As he screamed. Eyes filled with terror. That moment they were alright and suddenly merciless waves were ripping them from the ground. All but a moment for everything to end.

"We were going to talk about the thing at the contest but if you're too tired…"Haruka said coming out and taking a seat on one of the large porch chairs. Her voice startling Usagi slightly. Focusing on the short haired blond, she was able to push back on the memories etched into her very being. She sat up straighter and pushed the wish to cry behind a tired smile. This would not control her, exhausting as it may be. She would carry this curse without stopping her steps towards the future. "No, I want to know." She had actually nearly forgotten about that. So wrapped up in just trying to get in the water it had slipped her mind. Though she did wonder if they were doing it now because she would be too tired to ask too many questions.

"All right just got to wait for Michiru then." Haruka said.

"Why do you guys hate talking about this anyway?" Usagi asked. Being probably a bit more nosy then she needed to be. Honestly, she just wanted a distraction at the moment. The anniversary of the quake was just a couple of days away and talking about whatever those two had going on was one way to get her mind off of it.

"We're not entirely sure, to be honest. Best guess is that its some leftover stigma from the time of the Silver Millennium." Michiru said coming out and taking a seat next to Haruka. What kind of stigma was a good question though. It could range anywhere from they weren't supposed to have this kind of bond to the kind of stigma towards same-sex relationships that existed in the present day.

"We really shouldn't let what happened that long ago affect our now." Usagi said frowning slightly. Okay, that might be a bit hypocritical considering her own actions in the past month they had known each other but the point remained.

Haruka snorted lightly at that. "If we didn't let our pasts at least somewhat dictate our lives we wouldn't be having that conversation at all."

"Okay, that's true." Usagi agreed. No past influence meant no Dark Kingdom, meant no Sailor Senshi, meant they probably would have never met to begin with. Or if they had things would have gone very differently.

"On the actual subject?" Michiru broke in before the two of them could go further down that line of thinking. "Haruka and I seem to have some sort of strong mental connection, a bond of sorts. Most of the time we can sense each other's feelings and on rarer occasions thoughts. And if the situation calls for it use the bond to track down one another if separated."

"We're not entirely sure why but it's been there since day one though it was a lot less noticeable before I henshined the first time." Haruka took up the explanation. Though at the time neither knew what it was exactly only that something seemed to keep drawing them back together.

"Okay you two know I'm pretty open to stuff and I've known you're in a relationship. Why would you guys think I wouldn't handle you having a bond well?" Usagi asked. Okay maybe slightly hypocritical considering how she had handled her own secrets but none the less she was curious. They had never shown any strong feelings towards disabilities either before they had found out and yet she had reacted the way she had. She knew that she had a small bond with them just because sometimes feelings came across it when one of them was feeling particularly strong about a subject but it wasn't very common. And by the way, the two talked whatever they had was deeper and stronger then what she had with them.

"Part of the hesitation isn't necessarily due to anything on your end but something else entirely. It seems to come from the fact that we both feel that there is something we can't remember that is vital to the bond but we don't have enough of our memories to identify what that something is." Michiru said frowning slightly. It had been a conversation that her and Haruka had had before. It confused and in the case of Haruka aggravated them that they couldn't understand the bonds. Let alone why they hesitated talking about them or why there felt like there was an important missing piece to them. Hopefully with times everything would return and they would understand this a lot better.

"We're not entirely sure if its missing memories or what the deal is. Just that we seem to have a natural avoidance when it comes to talking about it." Haruka said with a shrug.

"As I said earlier the issue maybe a left over stigma from the Silver Millennium for all we know. If it is that complicates things." Michiru pointed out. Usagi like them didn't have enough of her memories back to have opinions based around them. Luna and Setsuna on the other hand did. So while they found it slightly easier to talk to Usagi about it. Talking to the others about it made them slightly on edge.

"And considering how full of holes Luna's memory is, she could either take this great or not." Usagi realized what Michiru was pointing out. Luna's faulty memory made for some interesting things at times. So she didn't exactly blame them for wanting to keep a lid on it at this point. And Ms. Setsuna, well while she worked with her and knew the woman fairly well, Haruka and Michiru had only limited short conversations with her. Plus from what she knew Setsuna was actually from the Silver Millennium so she would have her entire memories and possible stigmas intact. Usagi actually thought and considered that maybe it might have been a good thing Luna couldn't make it and Setsuna, for whatever reason, didn't.

* * *

Usagi woke up early the morning of March 11th. She had been able to get some sleep though it had been fitful which she had been expecting with it being the anniversary. At least this year was slightly better, the first anniversary she had barely slept at all keeping her and Naru up since when she did it was filled with sporadic nightmares. There had been some last night too but they hadn't been as bad as the first year and she partly had Ms. Setsuna to thank for that.

Usagi sat up on the edge of the bed for a moment contemplating what to do. She was doing better with the beach, but today was going to be difficult and she wasn't sure if she could handle being here for most of it. Yesterday took a lot out of her and even thinking about facing it made her feel a bit tired inside. It was only the morning and it all ready felt like it was too much. Every time she closed her eyes she went straight back to that horrible day. The sounds of the ocean were not helping the matter either. The sound of the unforgiving sea bashing buildings and sweeping up people. Usagi pinched herself to keep herself in the present. She knew the likelihood of another major quake striking while she was this close were extremely small and she had probably seen that event for the only time in her life. That didn't change the fact that part of her wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

Muttering an apology towards Haruka and Michiru for not warning them of her plans and Setsuna for seeming to have taken a step back, she made her decision. She needed to get out of the house and away from the beach until the time of the quake had come and gone. They had driven through a small town on the way in. That should be far enough inland that she should feel safe even with it being an anniversary. Not wanting to wake the others she got dressed, put a small daypack together, and scribbled down a note saying she was heading into town and would be back in the evening before quietly slipping out the front door.

* * *

"She's normally up by now." Haruka commented over breakfast frowning. Neither her nor Michiru had seen Usagi this morning which was a bit odd. Usagi hadn't shown to be a late riser during the trip but they hadn't heard sounds of her getting up yet. They normally let the girl come out on her own but this was starting to drag on. At the very least she needed breakfast.

"I'll check on her." Michiru commented getting up and heading to Usagi's room. Usagi had seemed fine the night before but she had shown to be able to hide things when she wanted to.

"Gone into town. Will be back in the evening." Michiru read aloud frowning slightly picking up the note she had found on the nightstand and reading it. That was a bit odd, Usagi hadn't really shown any interest in going to visit the nearby town when they had driven through on the way to the house. What had changed?

"She must have left before we got up. Though if she went into town that's a bit surprising. Did she walk all that way?" Haruka asked frowning slightly coming up behind her. The town was a few kilometers walk at least and if Usagi really wanted to go into town it would have been a lot faster to just ask for a ride. Which raised the question what had motivated Usagi so much that she needed to get out of the house and didn't want to wait for them?

"Haruka look at the date." Michiru said holding up her phone. She had pulled it out to text Usagi when she had zeroed in on the date it was displaying. If she really wanted to go into town for a few hours that was fine but it was best to check and make sure everything was all right before leaving her be. March 11, in other word today was the two year anniversary of the Tohoku quake.

Haruka inhaled sharply. It wasn't entirely surprising they hadn't realized today was the anniversary. After becoming Sailor Senshi passage of time had gotten a bit wonky for them. It was basically marked at this point by certain major events, end of school year, birthdays, etc. Until Usagi had come into their lives the quake and its anniversary by extension had been a blip on the radar. They hadn't had family or friends directly impacted by it so while it was a sad event they had had no personal connection to it. So it wasn't entirely surprising that they hadn't realized the anniversary was coming up. Especially since Usagi, probably intentionally knowing her, hadn't mentioned once that it was coming up.

"It may be best to leave her alone for the time being." Michiru muttered though she wasn't entirely sure what the best course of action was. This was an area they were unfamiliar with. Maybe she should text Naru and ask for advice. The two had known each other so long that if anyone would know how to proceed it was the redhead. As it was they were out in the middle of nowhere so Usagi should be technically safe to leave for a few hours if she did want her space. She doubted the girl would be returning to the beach house anytime before the evening, after the official time the quake had struck came and went.

* * *

Nothing beats an old-fashioned video game distraction. That was the first thing Usagi had checked for... but the town wasn't big enough for that apparently. So she had settled for window shopping and then spending time in the local park. Right now she was just sitting on a bench trying to relax a bit, though it was near impossible, and found herself glancing over at the clocktower to check the time occasionally. Just a little over an hour left until the actual time the quake struck now.

"There you are Usagi." Usagi looked up in surprise hearing Haruka before she saw both of the girls. She hadn't expected them to follow her into town.

"Hi." Usagi greeted before losing eye contact. She wasn't really in a talking mood but she sensed the other girls sitting down next to her after a moment so she was a bit worried that she might end up talking.

"You could have told us that you needed to go into town you know. We would have understood considering." Michiru said a bit exasperated.

"I didn't want to be a bother." Usagi muttered.

"Miss Kiaoh! I didn't know you were in town!" Came a new voice interrupting any possible response the other's would have given. Glancing up for a moment Usagi saw a young girl coming up to them.

"It's nice to see you too Sakiko. I trust all is well. With your father picking up supplies for the hotel I assume?" Michiru greeted.

"Yep! How long are you in town for this time?" Sakiko asked.

"Just until Sunday. I am here with friends instead of the family." Michiru explained. "Sakiko these are my friends Haruka Tenoh and Usagi Tsukino. Haruka, Usagi, this is Sakiko, she is the daughter of the hotel owner that's on the neighboring property."

Haruka greeted and Usagi managed a wave and mumbled hello. Normally she would be friendlier she just wasn't in the mood at the moment. Sakiko frowned. "Is she okay?"

Shaking her head. "She'll be alright." Michiru assured the girl.

"Oh…okay! You guys should come by dinner tonight. We should have enough stuff considering we're picking up groceries today." Sakiko suggested changing the subject. Usagi stiffened slightly. She knew that getting together was the polite thing to do but she wanted even less to do with the house on the cliff today then on any other day before. She relaxed after a moment as she felt Michiru put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry Sakiko we'll have to pass today. I have to take care of a few things in town and planning to eat dinner here. We're still here for another day or two so if we have time we'll come over if not I'll see you next time I'm at the house." Michiru said gently turning the girl down. Judging by her reaction to just the suggestion Usagi wanted nothing to do with the house today. In fact, Usagi probably wouldn't feel comfortable enough heading back to the beach house until well after dinner time so it was best to plan like they wouldn't be back at the house for several hours. In fact, her and Haruka had already come up with an idea for Usagi that banked on the other girl not wanting to return to the beach house until after nightfall.

"I don't want to hold you back from getting together." Usagi mumbled after Sakiko had wandered off. She really didn't want to go there but she didn't want to stop the others from socializing either.

"Usagi, its more of a courtesy thing we do usually since we're neighbors. I don't have to get together with them." Michiru said slightly exasperated by the way Usagi was acting. She had felt the girl react when Sakiko had suggested getting together. She obviously didn't want to go there tonight. Plus considering how she had reacted the first time they had gone by that house there was zero doubt in her mind that Usagi wanted anything to do with going there today of all days. It wasn't entirely surprising though. Usagi had walked all the way from the house because she didn't want to bother them with her anxiety about being this near the ocean on the anniversary.

"How long do we have until the quake struck?" Haruka asked after a moment.

Usagi glanced back at the clock again it was now just after 14:15, the quake had hit around 14:46 originally with the tsunami coming over a half hour after. "About 30 minutes. How did you two know where to find me anyway?"

"Called Naru after we discovered you were missing over breakfast. She said if we were looking for you you would either be at the arcade, or at the local park. Since the town doesn't have an arcade, that left here." Michiru explained. They hadn't come immediately since Naru had said that she might want her space and that might be why she hadn't woken them when she had taken off. But did say she probably want company when the time the quake struck had gotten closer even if Usagi was unlikely to admit it. So they had waited until after lunch to go into town.

Trust Naru to look after her even when a couple hours away, "Thanks for coming." Though she wasn't complaining she was a bit surprised Michiru had Naru's number. While the relationship between Haruka and Michiru with Naru was cordial due to the nature of why they knew each other she wouldn't have called them friends either. Not that she was complaining that they had found her when it came down to it. She wouldn't probably admit it but she did appreciate having company as the time drew nearer.

"I'll be better when 14:46 and 15:19 have past." Usagi said. 14:46 was when the quake had struck and 15:19 was the officially recognized time for when the tsunami had begun to make landfall. She wasn't sure if that was the exact time it had hit where they had lived. Even now on her best day she had only flashes of what had went down. Trying to pin it down in chronological order was impossible for her, no matter how hard she tried.

Michiru frowned for a second at the second time Usagi had listed and then it clicked, "The time the tsunami struck."

Usagi nodded her head not sure if she could talk at the moment. She wasn't sure what was going to be harder to get past. The time the quake struck or the tsunami time. Only that as both marched closer the tenser she got. A silence fell around the three as Haruka and Michiru seemed to understand that while she appreciated the company she wasn't in the mood for small talk.

Usagi tensed slightly as the nearby clock tower started chiming as it officially became 14:46. It rang six times, one for each minute the earth had shaken and then went silent. Though Usagi didn't relax yet. She probably wouldn't be able to until the time of the tsunami had come and gone. Part of her was afraid that the earth would start shaking again at the same time as the Tohoku Earthquake. She knew the odds of a quake striking again at this very moment were extremely small but she couldn't help it. Part of her would probably always fear that history would repeat itself in some fashion.

She wasn't even sure when the tears started or really why. Maybe being caught in the moment, maybe being more aware of her surroundings and just what today was when compared to last year (last year had been interesting to say the least and she had coped essentially by not coping at all) but once they started they wouldn't stop. One of the girls had moved to stroking her hair for the moment, which one she wasn't sure as she couldn't bring herself to actually check at the moment, and she found herself leaning slightly into the touch even as the tears continued. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had cried over that day. Shingo's funeral maybe? She was always trying to put up a strong front for her parents and Naru back home. Even if they could often see through it. Add to that the fact she had almost been catatonic last year and it had been a while since she had a long cry about the events.

She relaxed only slightly as the clock chimed to indicate it was now 15:00. The tears stopped for the moment but she had a feeling when the clock chimed to indicate the anniversary of the tsunami they would return with full force if not worse then before.

"Feeling better?" Michiru asked after a moment. Usagi raised her right hand to make a motion that it had helped sort of, she wasn't sure if she could talk if she tried. It was true the crying had helped some. But it also had left her throat feeling tight from all the crying and it was probably going to get worse since she suspected the crying would restart when the time the tsunami had hit.

Her eyes darted to the clock for a moment only a few more minutes now and she started to tense again. She knew technically her reaction was silly. There had been no earth-shattering movement when the anniversary of the quake had officially passed. But for some reason, she couldn't help but fear the possibility of a wave of the ocean appearing from nowhere, just as they had that day.

Trying to keep her mind off the time and the clock tower she refocused on something else. The last clear memory she had of Shingo. The evening before the quake they had some sort of silly argument before they went to bed, what she couldn't remember, typical brother-sister things. It wasn't the happiest memory or the best memory she had of him but it was better then flashes from the day of the quake. It was the last clear conversation she could recall having with him. Everything else scattered for her. Like sand, it slipped through her fingers. If she had known what was going to happen the next day maybe she would have done something different. Maybe been a bit less annoyed when she went to bed or less in a rush when she got up the next morning. Not that it mattered now, she could wish all she wanted but wishing wouldn't bring him back. She just hoped that when they did see each other again in the afterlife that he didn't hate her for not being able to keep him from falling victim to the tsunami.

As the clock tower chimed to indicate 15:19 she sniffled before dissolving into tears again. Worse this time, the quake was a moment in time and yes it had been the beginning of everything that had changed her but it ultimately hadn't been the event that had impacted her the tsunami that had followed was what had changed her life forever and had arguably the bigger argument. Haruka drew her into a side hug as the tears continued. Even if it was still a lot to process for her having them here seemed to help. ,

It was a while before the tears started to slow down and finally came to a stop. Haruka released her grip slightly as Usagi sat up fully wiping her cheeks of the tear stains. A short silence lapsed that was broken by Michiru, "Do you feel up to moving somewhere? Maybe getting food?"

Usagi shook her head slightly. She wasn't sure if her legs could support her if she tried to stand up she was shaking too much that she could almost feel the prosthetics vibrating from her body's shaking. She may have stopped crying but heavy emotion weighed down her appetite. She knew the bench wasn't the most comfortable place on the face of the planet and she hated to make the other girls stay but she wasn't probably going to be up to moving any time soon. And that wasn't even starting on the fact that she wasn't sure if she was up to eating at the moment. "Sorry."

"It's fine. We have all the time in the world. Nowhere to be but here." Michiru reassured her.

* * *

The next few hours had been a blur for her. It had taken a while for Haruka and Michiru to coax her off the park bench and to get dinner at one of the restaurants in town. She had barely spoken most of the time only answering when addressed directly by one of them. She was starting to feel a bit better by the time night had fallen but still wasn't quite ready to go back to the beach house. She knew she would have to eventually but she was putting it off.

She had been a bit surprised at first when Haruka had pulled an unlit paper lantern out of the trunk of the car. But once she had gotten over it she had been grateful that they had apparently spent the time to think up something like this. Truth be told she even hadn't thought about getting a paper lantern or that the town would be selling them but it made sense. While Toro Nagashi was at its height in August usually because of Obon, with today being the anniversary she probably wouldn't be the only one sending one downstream on the river. Even in a small town like this.

There was a decent crowd around the river bank. It wouldn't be anything like in the major cities or up north where the quake had hit hardest probably. But there was going to be a decent number of lanterns on the water, judging by the number of people carrying one she spotted. Most people, of course, were strangers but she did recognize a couple of faces she had seen around town during the day. It made sense the town was close to the ocean even if it hadn't felt or seen the strongest of the quake/tsunami there were probably a lot of people in a small town like this who knew or had lost someone.

"Are you going to be okay?" Haruka asked coming up to her side. Apparently sensing her working up the courage to get up to the river bank and put the lantern in the water. Even if it wasn't the ocean the river was still moving water and for all her progress she still feared it. A few people had already started going in and releasing them and she knew she would have to go up soon if she wanted hers with the others, but it was still difficult to actually go on the river bank.

"Probably no. But this is something I want to do." Usagi said taking a deep breath. While rivers were not the ocean it still unnerved her getting that close to moving water. She had done it the other day. Actually walked into the ocean for the first time in over two years. Even if it had been with Michiru's help. So she was fairly certain that she could get herself close enough to launch the lantern. This was something she really wanted to do, for her brother and all those she lost otherwise that day though him most of all, and even if she had to fight her ownself tooth and nail to get it done she was going to do it.

They stayed further back on the bank giving space to her and the others who were launching their lanterns. Usagi took a deep breath before kneeling down to put the lantern on the water. While the crowd wasn't overly huge between being this close to moving water and her fear of tight spaces she was finding this a lot more difficult then it probably should have been. It took a few minutes to get close enough to launch it but eventually she pushed out enough that it started to catch the river's current and float away from the bank.

She backed away from the river bank going to stand between Haruka and Michiru to watch the lanterns float off. She could still see the one she had put out for Shingo but it wouldn't be long before she would lose track of it. As it got further out Usagi swore that for the briefest moment she could almost have sworn she could hear Shingo's voice as the wind rustled around her for a moment, almost feel him hugging her with the breath of the wind.

She watched the lantern until became impossible to track individually in the other lanterns people had put out as they vanished into the night, a silent lament for the lights snuffed out that day.

End Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hope everyone enjoyed 12. Please remember to leave a review or a comment it really does make my day.
> 
> I'll be back on the 30th with Chapter 13.


	13. Animating Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN Hey guys can you leave a review please?
> 
> The lack of them for 12 actually hurt.
> 
> Thanks to Tsukikageshi for betaing again.

Chapter 13

Animating Life

"An anime based on us?" Usagi asked in surprise. They had only been back from their beach side vacation for a day but apparently things had been busy while they were gone. Peaceful, but busy.

"The governor thinks it would be a good way to portray everyone in a more positive light. While the Haneda Airport incident wasn't the worst thing that could happen, between that and the photo contest most, are unsure of what to think of you three. All things considered some more positive publicity could do you girls some good." Luna explained. They were going to have to tread carefully about what the anime portrayed but she had to agree with the governor on this one. Publicity, good publicity, was something that was in short supply so far for them. Something that showed the general public that they were to help them was a good idea.

"It certainly couldn't hurt." Michiru agreed. It might not have been her first pick for a publicity stunt but it certainly wasn't the worst idea. "It gives us publicity while not having to do as much publicity work outside of talking to the creators. We will have to be careful though what we tell them and what is allowed in the anime."

"Like my legs." Usagi realized. It wasn't so much she was worried about the comments. Well okay maybe she was a bit worried about the comments but that was far from her only concern. Among other things was the possibility of people being able to connect her senshi self with her civilian self. Her hair style was pretty unique to begin with. Then combine that with her legs and it might not be too hard for people to connect her with Sailor Moon

"Usagi-" Luna began.

"It's not that I'm scared for people to know for once. I might be a bit but that's not the biggest concern. It's not even that I don't want representation Luna, the opposite really. The problem is how many blond haired blue eyed fourteen-year-old girls with prosthetic legs are running around Tokyo? Our magic protects us to a point but it won't necessarily protect people from putting the obvious together." Usagi pointed out. Admittedly the number of people who knew about the prosthetics outside of school was kept purposely low but it was still best not to risk it.

Luna's ears flattened at that. "I hadn't thought of that."

"It's fine. Maybe if things were different I would be all for it. But there are too many things we are going to be displaying out in the open without them finding out about my disability." She said with a sigh. Representation wasn't a bad thing and truth be told, even with her concerns, she could see how it could be beneficial for the anime. There were just too many other identifying factors that she just couldn't be comfortable with it being that realistic. Plus while she was getting more comfortable about being open about the subject she still didn't like talking about it to be honest and she wasn't sure if she was ready for all of Tokyo and then some to know she was an amputee.

"You would think after the quake there would be more amputees living in Japan." Michiru said. There probably were but Usagi made a very valid point. Just her hair alone made her stand out in the crowd. Maybe they should try talking to the people in charge about how accurate there anime versions were to themselves.

"There probably are but there aren't a ton here in Tokyo that I know of. Especially ones that would match my description. Remember Tokyo didn't get as hard hit as other areas, so most people who lost limbs in the quake are from the north of here. There's just too many identifying factors, and to throw in a rather significant one, I think would be a bit stupid." Usagi said shrugging her shoulders. "That's not saying we can't include some real details. I am all for the character still remaining a quake survivor just not going into all the intricate details." Like Shingo.

"Still, in general, probably having any details that could be easily traced back to us would be a bad idea. They are probably going to have to get creative with certain aspects or leave them out entirely," Michiru commented frowning slightly.

"What? Are you thinking about having you two handle your relationship in the show. That's another big thing." Usagi asked after a moment. She doubted they would okay that, considering they kept it pretty much under wraps but who knows maybe they would change their mind.

"We are going to need to talk about it. That situation is kind of complicated." Haruka answered. Having their relationship in the anime was an issue and probably wouldn't fly for a lot of reasons. Part of the reason why Michiru's family hasn't completely disconnected from her was because Haruka could pass as a guy fairly easily. So when she really needed to attend formal functions they could still pass as a 'normal' couple. If they didn't know either of them were senshi it would be easy to agree to having their characters being that way but since Michiru's sister is our main contact to the government, that makes at least one who knows.

"Anyways if no one else has any protests about this, I am going to get back in touch and say we are interested in the idea." Luna said after a moment. They had a few days to figure out all the details on what to tell the company to put in and what not too at least. As it was, that was obviously something they were going to have to hammer out.

* * *

 

"So this is the studio then." Sailor Moon said looking up at the fairly large building. They had agreed to a meeting with some of the animators that would be working on the show so they could get a better idea on just what they would be working on. They were transformed and waiting in the lobby area for someone to come and get them and bring them back to where they would be meeting with the people making the anime. A small, wiry, dark haired man walked up to them after a few minutes. The director.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with us." He said giving them a big smile. "I apologize for being slightly late. I was making sure everything was ready when you arrived." The diretor otiued. "I am the lead director of the upcoming anime, Mr. Takashi."

"It's not a problem." Sailor Moon respectfully said. Internally, she was squealing. She had been an anime fan since she was a kid so the thought of having one based around her was kind of exciting.

"I brought some early cells for you to look at before you meet everyone. So far we've only had distant photos and various recordings to work from." He admitted handing them one of the cells to look at. "So its been difficult since none of you have put in an official public appearance outside of the government visit after the Haneda incident and so we've had to get a bit creative with references. Today should help clear that up. Though your still missing some people it appears."

"Pluto is a fairly private person. Moon works with her outside of work so she has the most experience with her." Neptune answered the technically unasked question.

"Yeah but then again I only see her maybe once a week." Sailor Moon said with a shake of her head figuring that wouldn't be too dangerous to say. Yeah she knew Sestuna best out of all of them but probably didn't know her as much as she could. She had brought up the anime with Sestuna during the last session but Sestuna at the time seemed to think it was necessary for her to get involved.

"And the man?" He asked taking the cell back from Usagi who had been the last to look at it. Before motioning them to follow him.

"He's even harder to track down." Usagi admitted. With Pluto they at least knew her real identity could contact her easily. Tuxedo Kamen on the other hand was still a mystery who she hadn't even seen since the mall incident now that she thought about it. But then again the last youma they had fought was at the camera contest so it wasn't really that long ago.

The director frowned slightly at that, "That could complicate things."

"Not really. To be honest, we see him less then we see Pluto he doesn't need to be a pivotal character or in it at all." Uranus commented. Really considering how little interaction they had had with the caped crusader. they could drop him from the anime entirely and she wouldn't care. Well he might but if he did he should have given them a way to reach him in her opinion.

"Maybe best to leave him out entirely for the moment then." The man surmised holding a door open for them. "Everyone's waiting for you in here."

It was a fairly large room empty of furniture outside of a few chairs backed up against the wall but it was filled with a lot of people. At first no one really talked, she spotted one or two animators doing what looked like some preliminary sketches judging by how they kept moving to different spots. But no one talked at first and then…."So you've dealt with the Haneda airport incident, the phony photo contest, and Dreamland correct? What other plots have you three been involved in that we can use?" Someone asked looking at a piece of paper he was holding. Probably some sort of storyboard writer Moon guessed if he wanted details on a timeline.

Sailor Moon still wondered how the whole wedding shop hadn't got more publicity. Maybe stash it under same strangeness as the Shrine Incident that Haruka and Michiru had mentioned.

"Not all of our fights were as public as the incident at Haneda airport. We provided a list to help you get started with episode ideas but we left a few of the early adventures off since we are a bit concerned if every plot gets animated people will connect our civilian identities with our senshi identities. We all have civilian lives outside of being senshi. To go into too much detail and make it completely accurate would not only endanger ourselves, but our families, and possibly other civilians. It's better to have some falsehoods sprinkled in then to be 100 percent accurate to our story. I don't think any of us are expecting to it to be completely accurate to what's actually happening. We just ask that it doesn't get too off the wall." Neptune explained having handed a piece of paper they had typed out for the organizers. One of the men scanned the list they had provided. It wasn't overly detailed just gave something to start with. It had no dates or who had been in charge of fighting what, just misc events and fights they had been connected to in some way or another. It gave the animation team room to play and it honestly made them safer, as unless someone really went digging, it would be near impossible to get an accurate timeline and list who was involved in all of the events.

"Just how long have you been awake anyway?" Someone asked from the back of the room.

"Several months." Neptune answered in a clipped tone. She understood some curiosity but it was dangerous to give details about who awoke when and in what order.

"So whose the leader of the group?" Someone asked seeming to sense that time awoken was going into danger zone and slightly shifting topics. Maybe trying to figure out who awoke first by who was the leader.

"That would technically be me. Though we were work more as a unit." Moon answered. Truth be told for all the times Luna had made it out for her being the leader she had yet to have to do very much leader like things. They worked more as a group versus her commanding the two of them and standing back.

There was some mumbling within the group but no one asked about further explanation on how that worked. Instead…"By the way what's the story with the cat?" one of the animators asked staring down at Luna drawing something on the sketchboard they had.

"I am the girls adviser. I awake them." She explained.

"Eh a talking cat!" One of the animators said kneeling next to the first one to get a better look at her.

"It would probably be fore the best if I'm either not animated or at least not animated as a cat. There might be a lot of domestics cat in the greater Tokyo area but there aren't going to be too many that look like me." Luna spoke.

"Should be easy enough. Can make you another animal entirely or something entirely alien." The first one said tapping the sketchboard for a moment before standing up and moving back into the crowd.

"What about Sailor V? I thought she was one of you guys." Came another question. Apparently more curious about Venus then the other missing members of the team. Not that she completely blamed him for skipping the other two. Pluto and Tuxedo Mask technically had even less publicity time then they did. Probably for someone who wasn't directly involved with the plots they were a blip on the radar.

"She is actually, however due to another commitment she could not be here with us." Luna said.

"V could not get away rom the case she is workig on curretly." Moon said, it was mostly true. The only real thing they knew that wasn't general public knowledge was why Sailor V was in England. Everyone knew she was there, Venus had made a bit too much of a showcase not to be missed, however that didn't mean everyone knew the particulars of why she was there.

"However she is one of yours?" came the next question apparently wanting additional verification to Luna's comment.

"Yes." Sailor Moon said.

"Maybe something to work into a second season if we go that long.." The director said frowning slightly.

"I kind of hope we aren't at this long enough for there to be a second season." Moon confessed under her breath. She liked the idea of being animated. However the thought that they could be working long enough to get a second season possibly greenlit was something that did not make her happy.

"Wait if she is one why does she go by Sailor V instead of Venus like the rest of you? Or the other way around?" someone from the back asked apparently deciding to continue on the Venus tangent.

"You know I'm not entirely sure why she goes by Sailor V." Sailor Moon confessed with a frown looking down at the cat hoping she would pick up the question from there.

"I never bothered to ask. Artemis kind of made her sound like a free spirit so that might be part of it." Luna said frowning for a moment.

"Artemis?" someone asked.

"My co-guardian. We would normally act together as mentors to the senshi but when Venus had to go to out of country we had to split up." Luna explained.

"As for us not going by our initials, can you imagine trying to identify who we're talking about with Sailor M? While there isn't a Mercury or Mars there is a potential there for there to be ones and that would mean you would have three girls with the same initials running around. It would get very confusing very fast." Sailor Moon pointed out.

"Anyways, I do not understand why Venus being kept away deals with our anime?" Neptune said deciding that the line of questioning around Venus was done for got them to drop that line of questioning finally. Though she could hear a few people muttering in disappointment. Guess they had been really hoping to work with their overseas member.

"Was she really that popular before she went off to England?" She muttered under her breath to Neptune. Considering the two girls had been awake an identical amount of time Michiru would have the best idea of her popularity before she had been shipped overseas for a year.

"Honestly, I was too busy trying to understand the situation to pay her much attention at the time when she was drawing attention in Japan. By the time things settled enough for me to wonder about a connection she had all ready packed up shop and gone to England." Neptune replied shaking her head also keeping her tone low.

"How can you tell if you might be dealing with a youma plot?" Someone asked deciding to move away from the topic of Sailor V.

"It depends. Some situations are more difficult then others to tell if it is just run of the mill weirdness or Dark Kingdom weirdness." Usagi confessed. Truth be told they hadn't run into much run of the mill weirdness but the point still stood.

"Plus as we've seen the generals that serve Beryl tend to imploy different tactics which complicates the situation." Luna added. "Jadeite, the first general, was more interested in gathering energy then trying to fight us at first until we became too much of a nuisance to ignore. Nephrite, the second general, on the other hand has been trying to get rid of us and gather energy in the same go."

"How many generals are there anyway?" someone asked.

"Four. Jadeite, Nephrite, Kunzite, and a final one that we have yet to encounter but know of through reputation. The girls here have fought Jadeite and Nephrite, who mentioned there were four of them, and Venus has been regularly engaging Kunzite. The final member of Beryl's generals hasn't shown himself to us. I suspect that will not last." Luna answered.

"Back on the topic of what can be used. To id a plot, is there anything that could be useful for the show?" The director asked deciding to try and bring the topic back to the youma fights.

"Usually some sort of behavior change is a hallmark of a Dark Kingdom plot. It's either they alter people's moods or they like to kidnap them from what we've seen." Neptune supplied.

"What kind of behavior change depends on the goal of the enemy? A lot of time they get unusually aggressive and impatient. Other times they are just highly more fatigued because the generals chose to go the longer route of draining energy instead of draining in one go." Luna supplied.

* * *

 

"Something the matter?" Sailor Moon asked a little while later to one of the female animators. She had been frowning since they had described typical youma controlled behavior. Most of the animators had left once they had started discussing more development-oriented things that wouldn't impact them as much but she had stuck around for some reason…

"It might be nothing…" She began frowning slightly.

Sailor Moon raised her hand to indicate it was all right. "I would rather have it brought to our attention then to find out later that we missed someone." That was the truth it could just be something stress induced but if someone thought that someone might be acting weird due to supernatural causes it was better to investigate.

The lady sighed after a moment. "Well, it's just what you were saying about behavior changes. A few days ago one of the studio's big backers, Masato Sanjouin, came by just to check on things. Nothing that abnormal, it happens every once and a while. Afterwards, one of my friends started behaving a bit weird." She explained.

There was that name again. Moon was starting to think Luna might really have a point about him being Nephrite. Neptune brought her out of her thoughts. "What do you mean by weird?"

"Aggressive and kind of secretive. We're always comparing cells to maybe pick up on something the other can improve but since then she won't let me get near her work. She's also working odd hours. I stay pretty long but she's always here when I'm leaving or when I'm arriving it feels like. I kind of wonder if she's left the office much at I tried to make her leave to go to lunch with me earlier she made a rude comment and went back to drawing." The lady admitted frowning slightly.

"And she isn't like this normally?" Usagi asked. It did sound kind of like the behavior she had seen before that one youma idol but maybe the other animator had changed tactics.

"Hiromi has always been kind of a shy and for the most part pretty quiet. We've known each other since we went to high school together and later art school. In all the years I've known her this is the first time she has ever acted like this." The lady admitted. Okay that probably eliminated any possibility that it wasn't a youma plot. The lady continued shaking her head slightly. "She was supposed to be at the meeting but last I checked she was at her cubicle drawing some sketches that could maybe get used in the anime. She really wanted to meet you guys too."

"Did the interest start before this sponsor dropped by?" Neptune asked frowning.

"Yes, why." The lady asked looking a bit confused by the question.

"We just have to always be on the lookout for traps. If she was possessed by a youma then its better to know when the timeline started with certain things. You didn't clarify at first if the interest in meeting us started before the other odd behavior or after." Neptune explained. If it had started after and was possibly related to Nephrite then that could mean she could be highly aggressive. Well, she might still be highly aggressive depending on the type of nature of the spell Nephrite had used.

"Oh that makes sense." She said blinking a few times. "She was even more excited then I was about meeting you. Her not coming to the meeting... is unlike her."

"Hey. Look Hiromi, we have visitors." The lady said as they entered a new room coming up to a short-haired brunette who was leaning over her desk mumbling something Sailor Moon couldn't quite catch.

"Too busy." Hiromi said not even giving them a second glance.

"Hiromi I think you'll really want to meet them." The lady said reaching out to Hiromi to try and get her attention only to be pushed back as Hiromi slightly turned to her.

"I said I'm busy Kazuko!" Hiromi said not even seeming to realize that she had observers. Before Usagi could possibly intervene in the situation the pencil that she was holding started to glow bright white. That wasn't good. Pencils weren't supposed to glow so that left very little doubt that the Dark Kingdom wasn't involved here.

"That's not good." Uranus said stepping in to try and wrestle the pencil out Hiromi's grasp only to end up slightly tangled up as the other girl fought back. Only to have it get knocked onto the ground and start rolling away.

"I've got it!" Sailor Moon called chasing after the pencil as Uranus was still kind of tangled up with Hiromi. She almost made it to the pencil when the glow intensified and started to grow in size to form two humanoid shapes. Youma, it had to be. Though there being two of them was new. "Tonight's not our night is it." Sailor Moon commented under her breath quickly dropping back to where Uranus, who had finally detangled herself from a now unconscious Hiromi, and had moved over to where Neptune was standing. One youma was enough, two of them even worse.

"You got to give some credit to Nephrite. He's a lot smarter with his tactics then Jadeite ever was." Uranus muttered. Jadeite had never once sent two youma after them. Preferring to only have one in charge of a certain plot and try to cover up the plot as much as possible. Though he was never very good at keeping it hidden.

That was new and a bit worrying. Sailor Moon paled slightly as the other youma turned to face them now and began what suspiciously looked like a Spiral Buster forming in her hands. Oh great not only could the thing absorb it apparently but it could also return the same attack. One youma was bad enough, two youma were even worse, two youma that could take and turn their attacks back on them? That was the definition of a world of trouble.

"Definitely better at his job then Jadeite." Uranus commented again as they ducked the returned attack.

"Now is not the time to be complimenting the enemy Uranus." Neptune reprimanded. Even if it was technically true they had bigger things to worry about. Like getting the two youma out of there before they caused some serious property damage.

Sailor Moon let out a sigh of relief as it harmlessly dissipated after hitting a wall. That could have been a lot worse if it had come into contact with someone or something else. "We need to get the youma away from here and in a more open space." Sailor Moon commented. Between all of the people working here and the amount of items there could be a lot of collateral damage if they weren't careful. They could aim well enough to try and keep causing collateral damage but the youma certainly wasn't going to have the same consideration for life and property.

"You're going to have to catch us first." Uranus said taking off towards the back of the room with the others quickly following.

"Well that's certainly one way to get out of the enclosed space." Sailor Moon agreed as they followed Uranus out of the office and up to the roof. She just hoped no one from the office was stupid enough to follow them to try and get more stuff for the anime. There was a point where it crossed into dangerously stupid things to do for work and following them into a battle was one of them.

"Oh no you don't. Spiral Buster!" Uranus letting loose her own attack to match the youma's. When the Spiral Buster met its almost twin attack they clashed for a moment before dissipating entirely.

"Oh great the attacks cancel each other out." Sailor Moon muttered. She guessed it could be worse, the attacks could be absorbed by the energy. That was not a fun thought.

"It's not the worst thing. We can use that fact to our advantage. If we time it right we should be able to keep them from launching their own attacks and you should be able to get the tiara in to finish the job." Neptune said releasing a Splash Edge at the same time as the other youma. Might not be able to completely destroy the youma but they could at least draw the whole thing to a standstill for the moment.

"Yeah but will one Tiara Action be enough to do the job?" Sailor Moon asked remembering the camera youma and how much trouble they had had taking it down. Between the fact that there were two youma and the fact they were getting stronger she wasn't sure if she could destroy a youma without it being at least hit by one of the other's attacks first. Maybe if she put all her strength into the attack it would work. But if it destroyed only one of the youma then they would be in trouble.

"Might not be one Tiara these two have yet to attack at the same time. If we can time it right and have the right person launch a counter to their respective attack we can maybe combine the other's attacks and the tiara to take them out." Neptune noted. So far the youma had been doing a one by one tactic. Which while was a nuisance actually made them less of a threat. As long as they didn't try anything else taking them down wouldn't be overly difficult actually.

"We could try a tactic similar to Dreamland but line up two attacks on top of each other. That way there is more than enough power to take them out regardless of which one of the launches the attack." Neptune suggested after a moment. One attack to cancel the youma's out and another to merge with Sailor Moon's to hopefully wipe them out in one go. It would be tricky to pull off but it shouldn't be impossible. And there wasn't a ton of options on what else to do. "They seem to be alternating whose attacking when. So this really is just a matter of timing and launching the right attack at the right moment." And not get hit by a stray attack when timing it.

"Sounds like a plan. Spiral Buster!" Uranus said releasing her own attack as the red youma released its own yellow ball of energy.

"Splash Edge!" Neptune said releasing her own ball trying to time it so it got out before the youma realized what they were up to.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Moon said releasing her own tiara watching it as it merged with the other attacks. The youma had caught on and tried to release an attack at the same time only to have it mess up for some reason leaving them wide open for a combo as the tiara slammed into one of them turning into dust going a bit out before turning around and hitting the other one before returning to Sailor Moon. Really the most useful thing about it was that it acted as a boomerang. Though she wasn't quite sure why the energy from the tiara hadn't dissipated after impacting the first twin. Maybe the connection between the youmas had kept it going? It was kind of weird and confusing to think about.

"We should get going it's late," Neptune commented. There was no real reason to stay around at this point. They had given the creators the information they wanted and taken care of the youma.

Moon chewed her lip slightly. Yeah there job was done and she wasn't going to deny she just wanted to get home and sleep at this point. But she wasn't going to be able to do that comfortably until they at least checked on Hiromi. "Moon!" came the exasperated call of the others as she made her way quickly back down the staircase. They could wait for her outside for all she cared at the moment. She just wanted to make sure Hiromi was okay before taking off.

* * *

Moon reentered the office just in time to catch what looked like a tail end of an apology from Hiromi to Kazuko, the animator who had brought the situation to their attention in the first place. Seeing Luna raising an eyebrow as she approached Moon said, "Youma's taken care of I just wanted to make sure she's all right before we take off."

"And the others?" Luna asked eyebrow going slightly higher.

"I might have left them on the roof," Moon admitted. Luna let out an annoyed sigh mumbling something she didn't quite catch.

"I am so so sorry!" Hiromi said apparently having now spotted Sailor Moon stopping Luna from possibly saying anything more direct to her about her decision making choices.

"It's all right you weren't in complete control there and no way you could have stopped the youma from emerging itself. I'm just glad we were here to take care of the problem," Sailor Moon admitted. They had been lucky with most of the plots on being able to identify them before the youma became a real menace. Today was the first time they had really stumbled onto one without having heard even the slightest rumble of possible Dark Kingdom trouble. Even at Dreamland, they had shown up slightly on edge. "You probably should be apologizing to your friend more than us though."

"She did so several times already," Kazuko reassured them. "I'm just glad you were here to solve the problem more than mad at how she behaved while under those thing's influence."

"Is it normal for youma to cause people to become so aggressive?" one of the other workers interrupted. Right they had forgotten that even though they were mainly talking with Hiromi and Kazuko they did have a bit of an audience.

"From what we've seen of the tactics that Nephrite's youma use, yes aggression is normal for his victims at least. Nephrite's tactics seem to cause more aggression then his predecessor, Jadeite did," Neptune admitted her and Uranus coming up to either side of her apparently having decided to follow her back to the office.

Most of the time Jaedite seemed to make his victims more sleepy than anything. Though she did know of at least one case where the victims were aggressive but that was more from the stories they had gotten from Moon before the three of them had started working together. Jadeite had seemed to prefer to use objects to drain his victims while Nephrite seemed to like to cause his victims to become more agitated to say the least and use that to build the energy to a stealing point. The photographer at the modeling contest certainly had fit a similar model of behavior from what she had seen before the youma had emerged from the camera.

"I am sorry!" Hiromi apologized again to the other girls.

"No real harm done. As Moon said we're just glad we were here to take care of it," Uranus reassured her. Other then maybe a bruise or two, from trying to wrestle the pencil out of Hiromi's grasp, that would be gone in a couple of hours none of them were the worst for ware from the unexpected youma fight.

Neptune kept quiet in her own thoughts as she went over the particular incident with the youma. This had been a case of almost sheer dumb luck in finding this particular plot and that wasn't a good thing. Maybe… the governor's suggestion of setting up a hotline for suspicious supernatural activity was better than they originally thought. There would be a lot of red flags to deal with but considering they had nearly missed this youma entirely maybe it was better to have a second set of eyes and ears via the public. They didn't need to give the public all the details just enough to know what a possible youma situation might look like and a way to contact them. It certainly would be better than just stumbling upon youma plots like today. They had only so much luck when it came to the youmas and eventually, they were bound to run out of it.

"Neptune?" Moon said turning to the other girl who had been fairly quiet for a bit now.

"Just a thought I was having," Neptune said making sure to imply the conversation was best not for here. The hotline might be a good thing to implement but best not to discuss the topic in public. She shook her head of the thought. Not anything they could do about it tonight, "We should get going. It's late and I think we all want to get a rest after dealing with those youma."

"Ah yeah that's true," Mr. Takashi said after a moment, "Thank you for your time it was most informative and will help a lot in getting the anime right." Even more so then they had anticipated with the youma attack.

"Glad we could be of service," Moon said giving a small smile. She was just glad no one had tried to get too close to the youma for 'research' purposes during their fight. It had ended up working to everyone's advantage, in the end, to have come here that was good at least.

End Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey so um if you would please a review.
> 
> I have no clue if people actually read these. Considering I updated 12's AN last Friday pleading for a review and still got no response I have my doubts.
> 
> If I seem less enthusiastic right now then normal its two fold. One I am in the last week of classes so I'm at my mental breaking point.
> 
> Two, lack of reviews. My beta dropped by to help encourage me last time out. But she was the only one. And when 12 was the longest chapter to go live to date. Of either incarnation of the fic (longest chapter prior was That kind of genuinely hurts. Guys look I can't help craft a better story if no one stops to say something, anything.
> 
> Most of the others were only 7k when they went live. Even now the longest chapters with the addons is the first chapter at 8k. 12 was my longest by over 2000 words. It really does hurt that after all that effort no one bothered to say if they liked or hated it or you know ANYTHING.
> 
> Yeah favorites help and so does the view count. But that doesn't tell me you liked the then and now. It only tells part of the story.
> 
> It doesn't matter to me if its 7 days after post date or someone else all ready basically posted the same thing. I read all of them, I love all of them. I don't usually respond because I want a clarification or someone's asking a question I can address there's no way. But they make my day. And kind of help set my mood from chapter to chapter. I was over the moon after 11 got six reviews. And then was out and down in the dumps when no one stopped by after 12 (as much as I love my beta she's been around the block with me and I needed more feedback). Not even the ones I consider my 'regulars'. Just please leave a review. I am not sure how I'll take it if I have a repeat scenario with zero reviews outside my beta.
> 
> Anyway here's the preview for 14. Please note that as of tonight its still not been edited due to some computer trouble. So if things seem a bit more off then normal that's why:
> 
> She tugged at the hem of her dress nervously, it was a few hours before the big ball at the D Embassy. Her Mom was helping her prep for the event and Haruka and Michiru were going to give her a ride later in the evening. Normally she would maybe have gone with her Dad who was working press for the event but her and Luna had agreed on the fact that introduced too many possible problems if something went wrong. For both parties.
> 
> She hadn't attended anything quiet this formal since she had to get dressed up for Shingo's funeral, she hadn't gone to a school dances because of the obvious discomfort and possible stares. The closest thing she had done to going to a formal event had been the time her and Naru had snuck into that concert. Even then that wasn't nearly as formal as this. So it had been a couple of years since she had really allowed herself to look this formal. She would have preferred to be honest to just throw on a Luna Pen guise and go but her mother had been rather insistent that she wear a proper dress to the Embassy ball and had even dragged Michiru into it. Asking her for advice on what would be a good dress to wear to such an occasion. That was how she had ended up burrowing one of Michiru's dresses actually. She may still throw on a disguise to make sure no one saw the legs. But at least the dress covered them so it didn't make it obvious even without the disguise magic.
> 
> "If you keep tugging at it it will only wrinkle the dress," her Mom said shooing her hand away from the side of the dress as she continued styling her hair. Though there had been a disagreement on the matter they had ended up deciding to change up her hair a bit. She still retained the odangos she had kept her hair in since a child but rather then go with the traditional pigtails she normally kept her hair up in her hair was going to be more loose.
> 
> "I can't help it if I'm nervous," she said but moved her hand away from the hem of the dress none the less. Even before the quake she had never attended something quiet as formal as this. This was a whole other level of formal then she was used to dealing with.
> 
> See you on the 11th!


	14. Diamond in the Rough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone welcome to 14.
> 
> Thanks for the reviews last two weeks and please remember to drop one this week!
> 
> Thanks again to tsukikageshi for betaing the fic.

Chapter 14

Diamond in the Rough

The whole thing had felt odd. Luna had announced the need to infiltrate the embassy due to an ancient item that apparently predated the Silver Millennium (Or so she claimed. The way Luna talked she somehow found it hard to believe much was left that predated the Silver Millennium) without much warning. According to Luna, if it fell into enemy hands it could mean the end of all things. Usagi wasn't opposed exactly to investigating the matter, however, it had been brought up kind of suddenly. She really didn't remember Luna bringing up anything about the Moon Kingdom other than the occasional talk about the Moon Princess and trying to find the senshi in the early days, later of which had kind of faded as the three of them had gotten used to working together. To top it off, with Usagi's own memories being so spotty that she couldn't remember the ancient artifact. Judging by the confused looks on Haruka and Michiru's faces this was the first they had heard of this artifact themselves.

"The Ginzishou is an ancient crystal that belongs to the Lunarian Royal Family. It is capable of both miracles and destruction, however, the crystal was rarely used. It is safe to assume that if the D Kingdom has the Ginzishou then we need to find out and get it back for our princess before it falls into the hands of the dark kingdom." Luna explained when questioned just what in the world they were the crystal was and why she thought an old Earth royal family might be in possession of it.

"Luna I mean what are the real odds that its an ancient artifact of the Silver Millennium? I mean sure its a mysterious object being held by an old kingdom but what's to say it was inherited from the Moon Kingdom?" Usagi asked. Luna had never given them a specific timeline for when the Moon Kingdom had fallen. Other than implying quite a length of time had passed. At least a few millennia from the way she talked. So while she guessed it was possible that the D Kingdom's crystal was  _that_ old, it being on Earth raised a whole other set of questions. Like just how did it get here from the Moon?

"There is nothing to really indicated either way. The only people who would know for sure what happened to the Ginzishou, at the moment, are dead. I know something happened to it but unfortunately, my memory is still too spotty to say what." Luna admitted with some hesitance before continuing. She had been hoping that she would recall what had happened to the crystal before she felt forced to make any actions involving the crystal. No such luck apparently. "The fact that no one remembers what the crystal looks like makes it all the more likely that the Dark Kingdom will target here just on the sheer chance it might be the Ginzishou. They will be looking for anything ancient and mysterious that qualifies as a crystal. I would be shocked if they didn't show up here."

"That is true. They haven't shown much discretion in the form of targets." Michiru agreed after a moment.

"All the more reason we should be there just in. Even if it turns out to not be the actual Ginzishou and just some actual heirloom of their dynasty, we should be there because we know agents of the dark kingdom will be." Luna asserted. It may be just a random family heirloom to the D Kingdom, however, the fact that their treasure was ancient and hadn't been seen by anyone outside of the royal family in centuries meant it was going to draw the attention of the Dark Kingdom. That Luna was almost certain about.

"Yeah, but Luna how am I supposed to get in? Sure Haruka and Michiru can get in probably easily enough considering who they are. I doubt they are going to let a random girl just walk in and join the ball." Usagi pointed out. She was sure that no matter what that Haruka and Michiru could probably handle whatever situation came up on their own. Heck knowing those two, they were probably already concocting a way to get themselves invited to the ball. Luna probably would want her in attendance and that would be a lot more difficult. Outside of being Sailor Moon, she was a normal girl. Between Michiru's ability in the arts and Haruka's racing, both could be considered minor celebrities and with Michiru's family backing getting entrance into the ball for them should be easy. Her, on the other hand, was another matter entirely.

"That's why having a connection inside of the government is so useful." Luna said giving her a grin. "I informed him of the fact that we needed to get into the ball and he was able to get all three of you tickets."

"Wait wouldn't something like that require revealing our identity?" Haruka asked frowning slightly.

Luna made a face before saying. "Unfortunately, it was necessary for the situation but that piece of information is securely locked away somewhere where no one without certain authority can gain access to it. That I was assured of at the time we last talked. Besides with this, we should be able to avoid a repeat of the camera contest incident with the guards." She had been hesitant to give that piece of information but the governor had made some valid points, mainly about being able to get the girls places they normally wouldn't have access too, and so she had eventually given the names.

"Still it makes me nervous. That that kind of information is available anywhere, especially in this day and age." Michiru muttered. Usagi had to agree there were a lot of people with hacking skills. Just because it was a government, didn't necessarily mean that it was safe from a hack attack. Though it was nice to know that there shouldn't be a repeat of the security guard incident from the camera contest.

"We will deal with it if it ever comes to that. With any luck, that day will never come and the most you will have to worry about is dealing with random enemies, not the general public trying to harm you." Luna assured them. With any luck having the ids known to a few people in the government would come more in handy. The IDs meant they should in theory at least be able to avoid a repeat of incidents like at the modeling contest.

* * *

Usagi tugged at the hem of her dress nervously. It was a few hours before the big ball at the D Embassy. Her Mom was helping her prep for the event and Haruka and Michiru were going to give her a ride later in the evening. Normally she would maybe have gone with her Dad who was working press for the event but her and Luna had agreed on the fact that introduced too many possible problems if something went wrong. For both parties.

Usagi hadn't attended anything quite this formal since she had to get dressed up for Shingo's funeral. She hadn't gone to a school dances because of the obvious discomfort and possible stares. The closest thing she had done to going to a formal event had been the time her and Naru had snuck into that concert. Even then that wasn't nearly as formal as this. So it had been a couple of years since Usagi had really allowed herself to look this formal. She would have preferred to be honest to just throw on a Luna Pen guise and go but her mother had been rather insistent that she wear a proper dress to the Embassy ball and had even dragged Michiru into it. Asking her for advice on what would be a good dress to wear to such an occasion. That was how she had ended up borrowing one of Michiru's dresses actually. She may still throw on a disguise to make sure no one saw the legs. But at least the dress covered them so it didn't make it obvious even without the disguise magic.

"If you keep tugging at it it will only wrinkle the dress." Usagi's Mother said shooing her hand away from the side of the dress as she continued styling her hair. Though there had been a disagreement on the matter they had ended up deciding to change up her hair a bit. She still retained the odangos she had kept her hair in since a child but rather than go with the traditional pigtails she normally kept her hair up in her hair was going to be looser.

"I can't help it if I'm nervous," she said but moved her hand away from the hem of the dress none the less. Even before the quake, she had never attended something quite as formal as this. This was a whole other level of formal then she was used to dealing with.

"There isn't really anything to be nervous about. You're there just to gather information and to make sure that crystal is or isn't the Ginzishou. And to make sure the Dark Kingdom isn't involved somehow. However, if it makes you feel any better most people will not be looking that closely at what your wearing considering the nature of the event." Luna commented from her spot on the bed next to her. Luna had somehow snuck in listing a need to coach her. She still wasn't sure how Luna kept pulling it off but she couldn't deny it was useful.

"I can imagine. I wonder a bit what it looks like too, this treasure. If it isn't the crystal, what might it be? Still. It's going to be a big crowd and I haven't done anything this formal in well over a year outside of the concert event." Usagi confessed. Even ignoring the fact that this was her first formal event in such a long time there was the fact that she really, really hated crowds like the one that would be at the ball.

Luna let out a sigh. "You'll be fine. Regardless of your lack of experience with formal events, you are fairly good at blending in, which you are going to need to be able to do so we can gather information."

"How long do I have to stay there for anyway?" Usagi grumbled more to herself. She didn't have much of an obligation at the ball outside of making sure the treasure wasn't this Ginzishou Luna kept mentioning and make sure the D Kingdom hadn't become a Dark Kingdom target. Haruka and Michiru were providing entertainment so they were going to be there all night regardless. Her? Well, the way she felt right now she just wanted to get out as soon as the reveal was over. Her Dad, who was covering the event, Haruka, and Michiru were all there on business so it would be kind of hard to get out until one of them was done. If she wanted to leave early she was going to probably have to walk home. Maybe she would spend most of the evening in the balcony. Really, the formality of it wasn't her issue so much as being in what was bound to be a packed room. She might be able to handle it for small bursts, but she doubted she would be able to handle it for hours.

"No matter how much you wish otherwise your going to be there for awhile, Identifying the crystal shouldn't take long, less if I can sneak by whatever security. Unfortunately, we also need to be there in case the dark kingdom shows up. You're going to have to be there at least until this 'Princess D' brings out the treasure." Luna said shaking her head slightly.

"Great." Usagi sighed. Once upon a time, she would have lived for these kinds of events. Now though, it was a completely different story…

* * *

Usagi hadn't been at the gala very long when she was surprised to spot a familiar face in the crowd. Well, there were a couple of familiar faces here considering she had Haruka and Michiru were also here, but this was different. This was someone she hadn't expected to see.

"Naru!" Usagi said grinning at her friend. "I didn't know you were coming to this!"

"You didn't say anything either! We could have come together!" A jubilant Naru said returning the hug enthusiastically.

"Yeah well, me being here isn't all fun and games." Usagi explained holding up the chain that held the transformation broach. It was partially hidden by the dress, so it wasn't obvious she was wearing it, but if this was a youma plot then she needed it on her.

Naru made a face. "Sorry to hear that."

Usagi shook her head fidgeting with her hands a little bit. "It's fine. These things aren't my kind of thing anyway. Haven't been in a while."

Naru tilted her head slightly and then said. "Yeah. I guess that is true."

"So how did you get here anyway?" Usagi was genuinely curious on the matter.

"I got an invite from Masato Sanjouin." Naru said grinning.

"The millionaire?" Usagi asked genuinely surprised, remembering him as the millionaire that Luna suspected was actually Nephrite. How had Naru met him? As far as she knew the two had never crossed paths. Well outside of the photo contest. But if he had invited her to this she had to think that the photo contest was far from the first time the two had met.

"One and the same. I met him at the mall right before closing the night of the fake love letter incident. We talked some. He was nice enough and we've gone out once or twice since. He said he needed a date for the ball and I apparently was the first person he thought of." Naru said with a shrug.

So that's how the two had met then. Usagi frowned remembering Luna's earlier suspicion about Nephrite and Masato Sanjouin being the same person If he had been at that mall that was another point in that suspicion. On the other hand, there was still no concrete proof on the matter so she couldn't exactly say anything to Naru just in case it happened to be genuine coincidence. The fact that he was present when there might or might not be a Dark Kingdom plot going down was, while disconcerting, not itself proof.

Usagi was attempting to keep any worry or concern from her face. While concentrating, or rather attempting to, concentrate on consciously stopping her eyebrows from furrowing, she clearly had failed long enough for Naru to get suspicious. Naru was now frowning. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." Usagi slipped into a nervous laugh. Great now Naru would definitely know she was lying.

"Usagi-" Naru began frown deepening.

"Later." She said to her friend. Here was not the place to be having that kind of conversation or the time.

"All right. Just promise you'll tell me what ever's bothering you?" Naru asked.

"Yeah, I promise. Just  _not here_." Usagi emphasized hoping Naru would realize and get out before anything dark kingdom related could go down. If she was going to be hanging out with that guy they really needed to have a talk about possible secret identities too, come to think of it.

"Anyways, I better go find out where Mr. Sanjouin wandered off to." Naru said.

"Right you do that.  _Be careful_." Usagi called, her worry leaking through to Naru as she walked off to see where her apparent date had gone off too. Guess she was going to watch the other attendees dance since she really wasn't sure what to do with herself. There was no sign of the Dark Kingdom yet and the crystal reveal wasn't set for a couple of hours. Maybe finding a quiet spot would be good right about now. She could use the quiet anyway.

* * *

Usagi lasted maybe twenty minutes in the ballroom before she found herself ducking out onto a balcony in the back. She sighed in relief happier to not be in the room. Even if it wasn't the warmest night she found outside preferable to the crush of people inside. She might have gotten better with crowds since the earthquake but she still didn't like being in them. Plus, with all the moving bodies and Usagi found herself needing some fresh air at what she thought was an empty balcony. That was until someone cleared their throat. Whirling around in surprise she saw a familiar looking dark-haired guy in a suit. Now while that could probably describe half of the attendants Usagi had a feeling having now run into him several times at weird places that this might actually be Mamoru.

Masquerade. Usagi reminded herself, even if it was him it would break the whole environment that was going on if she addressed him by name. She was kind of surprised he hadn't actually said anything yet. "You're missing the party." He said raising an eyebrow behind his mask, finally breaking the silence. The blue of his eyes showed from behind the mask, a color she knew well considering it was the only truly identifying trait she had seen of the man behind the mask.

"I hate crowds." Usagi said. "You're missing it too since you're out here."

"True but I'm not exactly here for the party itself. I'm more here to see the legendary treasure." he said shrugging slightly.

"You like looking at ancient artifacts?" Usagi asked kind of surprised. If it was Mamoru like she kind of suspected it was(It was the eyes) she had never penned him as an aspiring archaeologist type. But then again despite several run-ins, they didn't know each other that well either. Considering it had taken over a month from when they just met just to get something as simple as a name. Or find out he was in high school. Now that she thought about it despite the fact they were both friends with Motoki neither of them really knew much about the other.

"Its a hobby. Of sorts." He, the masked man, clearly had no intention to elaborate further

"Some hobby." Usagi muttered to herself. If this was Mamoru it seemed like a strange hobby. He had mentioned wanting to be a doctor before. A medical doctor to be precise. She hadn't been struck as him being an Indiana Jones type with an interest in archeology along with other things to be honest. But then again, she still didn't really know him all that well.

"So why are you here?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Someone I know is trying to locate a lost artifact. They got me into the ball and asked to make sure it was or wasn't the artifact they're trying to find." Usagi explained. There that was a vague enough answer. Not like she could tell this guy, Mamoru or not, what she was actually trying to find an ancient crystal for. She would be laughed off as crazy most likely if she did.

"Whatever they think it might be must be pretty old considering the D-Crystal is rumored to be at least a couple of millennia old." He said raising a dark eyebrow till it was just about visible peeking up from behind his mask.

"They honestly never mentioned how old it's supposed to be only that it was ancient." Usagi admitted with a shrug. That was true. Luna had never given much of a timeline with anything related to the Silver Alliance. It could be as old as the universe for all she knew.

"Well, I hope they find whatever it is they are looking for soon. It was a pleasure talking to you but I'm afraid I must go rejoin the party." The man she suspected to be Mamoru said, bowing out and walking back into the ballroom. Usagi watched him go for a minute pondering if she should follow before deciding to remain. She wasn't really in the mood to deal with crowds at the moment so there was no reason to get back into one with the reveal still a couple of hours off. It was a pleasant evening anyway and the air felt just the right sort of cool on her skin when the breeze would gentle through from time to time. The stars were calling her to look at them and the garden bathed in starlight, moonlight, and the slight lighting from the ballroom brought out all sorts of shades within the garden giving it an ethereal feeling. Dark but comfortable. Though the conversation did raise some curiosities about Mamoru, Usagi wasn't about to leave such a pleasant escape to chase him through the crowds and demand answers he'd likely be unwilling to part with anyway.

* * *

A little while later Nephrite weaved his way through the crowd headed towards the back, more private, part of the embassy. He had clearance from work. Having your hands in just about most major markets came in handy when doing work for the Dark Kingdom. He just needed to get close enough to the princess to possess her. Then he could get a clear look at the crystal and take it back to the Dark Kingdom if it was the Ginzishou. Nephrite doubted the security was going to allow him close enough to the princess and the heirloom but he didn't need to be on top of her, just close enough to possess her, but not close enough that someone might come to the conclusion that he was somehow tied to it.

The whole thing was rather troublesome and he would rather not have been here, to begin with, but he was here on orders from Beryl to see if the D Kingdom's crystal was actually the legendary Moon Kingdom's crystal and what Beryl wanted Beryl got. He had enough on his plate trying to get rid of the Sailor Senshi and dealing with the memories he got every time he ran into Naru that adding to the list wasn't helping. He wished to keep her close, not knowing how Beryl or the others might react if they knew, and it also provided a good excuse to get to know her and find out why he was reacting this way. Beryl had probably made things overwhelmingly outside his strengths intentionally, he mused, whether as a distraction or as a similar running out of patience tactic like she had with Jadeite. He himself had had some mild success with youmas when the Senshi had been a bit quieter. He hoped this wouldn't end in his death.

Nephrite, still as his human identity Masato Sanjoin, had almost made it back to the room where the princess was waiting to come out when he bumped into another ball attendee. That wouldn't have been that much of a problem or that unusual if it hadn't triggered an unexpected memory. He had gotten used to the random flashes from being around Naru. He was not expecting it to happen when he was away from her.

"My apologies." Came the response from the dark-haired man with eyes the color of the ocean as Nephrite finally snapped out of the memory. That was new. Every other memory had involved the lady who looked like Naru or one of the other generals showing up though that was once in a blue moon. This, this had not just what appeared to be the boy dressed up in a suit of armor and the rest of the generals gathered around in what appeared to be a throne room. What on Earth had that been? In all the other memories it almost always had been in that garden from the first one. Why had he been in a throne room that clearly wasn't the Dark Kingdoms?

Nephrite, Masato Sanjoin, indicated it was fine before moving past and continuing to the back. Truth be told, he had been bumping into everyone tonight, or so it seemed to him anyway. He sighed. He had more than enough on his mind than to be bothered by randomly bumping into someone at the moment. More so, the fact that he had finally remembered something outside of all his encounters with Naru. Before now, all his flashbacks had been limited to when he was around Naru. Then he had run into this guy and it seemed like he had been hit by a cascade of them. Originally, he had kept coming back to Naru to try and make sense of the mall night and why he kept getting more random flashes of memories. The feelings that seemed to surface only around her were another matter as well, though connected. So far all of it been centralized to just the redhead. The encounter with the dark-haired boy had been the first time anyone else had triggered a flashback. This raised the question, just how much had he forgot of his time before Beryl?

* * *

"Where did you disappear too?" Naru asked coming up to Usagi's side as she finally reentered the ballroom from the balcony, having spent most of the evening on. It was getting close to reveal time so Usagi had reluctantly come back inside and had ended up bumping into Naru.

"I ducked out onto the balcony. I needed that. It was nice. You know how I get." Usagi admitted before looking around. "So where's your date?"

"He said he had to go to the bathroom." Naru asked frowning slightly. She knew Usagi had likely been out on the balcony because of the crowds but... why was she constantly asking about her date and why did she feel like the interest was more than for juicy details? "Usagi why do you seem so concerned about his comings and goings?"

"It's complicated. I'll explain tomorrow." Usagi said trying to deflect the conversation from a topic they couldn't talk about at the moment. Between reporters and all sorts of gossip hounds who knew who could accidentally overhear the conversation.

Naru frowned at that. "Usagi-"

"Naru. I promise I will explain tomorrow." Usagi pleaded with her, having grasped both Naru's hands. Inside she was begging the girl to understand. Naru seemed to accept it even if grudgingly. She knew Naru wanted to know and she didn't blame her. If the situation was reversed and Naru was in her shoes she sure would want to know too. This was the worst place to have a conversation like this, with so many possible eavesdroppers talking here about Nephrite and Masato would be the worst idea.

Any conversation that would have happened after that was cut off as a girl who couldn't be much older then them went rushing past carrying what looked like a large chest cackling all the way. Well, she wasn't 100 percent sure since she had only seen pictures of the princess online but she was fairly sure that was the D Kingdom's crown princess. The same girl who was supposed to be presenting the heirloom at the ball. Usagi hadn't heard what Princess D was saying as she was running past, though she was sure the girl was saying something in a crazed tone of voice. The loud commotion she had set about had prevented making out what she had said. Considering she seemed to almost be glowing as she ran out into the courtyard, there was a good chance that Nephrite and thus the Dark Kingdom were definitely involved.

"What was that?" Usagi stared after the girl for a moment. Okay, maybe not the right thing to say considering she was fairly certain what it was but still.

"I don't know but I think you should slip away, while you can, and transform." Naru advised. It was going to get either a lot easier or a lot harder to transform in the next few minutes depending on how the rest of the crowd responded.

"Right." Usagi nodded. Crap finding a place was going to be difficult in the crowd like this. Maybe she should have spent less time on the balcony and more time trying to find a hiding spot. Well, there was nothing she could do about it now.

"Usagi." She was startled a bit before she turned to see Michiru had come up from behind her. Well, that's a relief at least she had found someone in the crowd. Maybe she would know what to do about the situation.

"Michiru." Usagi said slightly relieved to have found one of the others with the room getting kind of chaotic. "Please tell me you saw that?"

"Hard to miss." Michiru said wryly.

"Oh, that's kinda true." Usagi said blushing slightly. It had been a rather large commotion.

"Come on. It should be easy enough to slip you into a back room." Michiru said motioning for Usagi to follow her. Well, that was one way to solve the problem of finding a discrete place to transform. Though… "Won't there be other people back there?"

"Most of them were out when the incident occurred and the rest scattered looking to get out after." Michiru assured her. Well, that was convenient at least.

* * *

"Moon Tiara Stardust!" Sailor Moon yelled tossing the tiara as her and Neptune rejoined Uranus out in the courtyard in trying to keep Princess D from slipping off to Nephrite. It might have been not as powerful as her compact according to Luna but it would at least maybe start to shake Nephrite's grip on the girl. Plus she had almost no training with the compact other then a few short sessions with Luna. So she wasn't entirely sure how effective that would be if she used it here and now.

"Did Nephrite get scared off?" Neptune asked frowning for a moment when she didn't see the brunette general.

"All I know is Nephrite disappeared after I followed her into the courtyard. She's still possessed though so I don't think he could have wandered off too far." Uranus answered.

"Sailor Moon, do you think you can heal her?" Neptune asked looking over at her.

"I'm pretty sure I can but I am going to need someone to keep her distracted." Sailor Moon said. She hadn't used the compact before on an enemy. So far Luna had had her randomly practicing aiming and powering it and random stuff in the park. So this was going to be interesting. She hated making them split up but there were two solutions forthe problem and only one of them needed to be here with her.

"I'll go after Nephrite. Uranus, you have a better chance of keeping Princess D restrained." Neptune making a run for the fence that surrounded the Embassy's border.

Uranus's solution to keeping the princess from proceeding closer to the border was to try and near tackle her and then try to wrestle her into a better position for Sailor Moon to use the compact. "Oof." Uranus commented as one of the elbows hit her right in the abdomen. The princess wasn't heavy but she did seem to know where to put her elbows to be of the most nuisance.

"Uranus-" Sailor Moon began having finally gotten the compact out and was wrestling it open. She was having a slight case of butterfingers in the nervousness of having to use it for the first time. Which wasn't the greatest thing to have at the moment.

"I'm fine just heal her before she can cause any actual damage." Uranus said grunting slightly.

"Right. Moon Healing Escalation!" Sailor Moon said getting the compact open and pointed it in the direction of the possessed princess. It took a minute or two but the spell finally took hold as she started to sag in Uranus's arms.

"Whew." Sailor Moon let out a sigh of relief as the spirit possessing the princess dissipated and the girl collapsed free of Nephrite's possession. Uranus lowered her to the ground as Moon walked up to her. "Are you sure you are all right Uranus?"

"She got a few elbows in a couple of times but I'll be fine." Uranus reassured her.

"We should probably get back inside before someone spots us." Neptune said as she came back over the fence, no Nephrite in sight, apparently having heard the tail end of the conversation. Even with them being officially backed by the government it was best not to risk an international incident by being discovered with an unconscious princess.

"Any luck with Nephrite?" Uranus asked Neptune came down next to her.

"No. He took off as soon as Moon broke the possession on the princess. I barely got a word out before he teleported out on me." Neptune explained.

"Sorry." Sailor Moon apologized. She felt this was somehow her fault. She should have thought he might leave. They needed to try to bring him in and question him but she didn't think of how he might respond to the possession being lost. It didn't take but a moment for Sailor Moon to get into a rut inside, blaming herself for Neptune missing Nephrite.

"It's fine I would rather have had the spell broken over asking him questions anyway. It can't be helped. We should get back inside before someone sees us and starts asking questions. If we get back in before things settle down we can use the back room to drop the henshin again without raising suspicions. Who knows how well we would be received by other country's governments." Neptune pointed out. Truth be told Mr. Haneda should interfere if things came to it but it was best not to chance it.

"Right." Sailor Moon agreed making a face. She wasn't even sure how well they were received by their own government to be honest. Neptune and Luna handled that more then she did and she had never felt like asking.

* * *

After dispatching Nephrite Usagi had begun to relax a bit. The Dark Kingdom threat had been taken care of now she just needed to check and see if this was the crystal that Luna was looking for. Maybe since she had already let her guard down some was why she didn't realize that another unfriendly face was at the ball until it was too late.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Juuban's legless whore." A voice said coming up behind her. Usagi froze. Cold, soul-gripping fear gripped her all of a sudden. She hadn't heard that tone since the end of the semester. Usagi had thought that since the year was out she would be safe. She had thought she wouldn't have to deal with her long-time tormenter. Usagi had ducked into a restroom to freshen up for a moment after the fight not thinking much of it and apparently, she had been followed by that very tormentor.

"Yuki." Usagi said trying to keep her voice neutral. In reality, she was terrified and internally screaming. She couldn't let Yuki know just how scared she was. That could only end badly. And a couple of her cohorts were with her, vicious girls who thrived upon her torment, though no one really seemed to thrive on it so much as Yuki herself... still. This could end badly if she didn't find a way out of it quickly or stall and hope for someone to show up so she would back off. Suddenly, having her way out blocked off by Yuki and the girls with her seemed like perhaps Yuki might have planned it in a way. How could she have been so careless as to not see that Yuki was here tonight?

"So, who did you do, so a legless whore like you could come to this upscale event?" Yuki said sneering all the while.

"No one Yuki. A friend got me an invite." Usagi said. Making sure to leave off the fact it had been a favor. She knew exactly where that conversation would go if she implied she had gotten somewhere as a favor to another person.

"Must not have known you that well if she gave you an invite." One of the other girls sniffed haughtily.

"She knows." Usagi said shaking her head trying not to let Yuki get to her. Choosing to ignore the fact that normally she wouldn't have gotten an invite to this kind of event.

"Hmph. Well, I'll teach your friend to be more careful in who she lends favors to. Kira restrain her." Yuki said to the girl on the left-hand side.

Usagi tried to keep the now identified Kira from getting a hold. However, a sharp smack upside the head had her seeing stars long enough for Kira to get the upper hand and get her arms restrained. For a brief moment, she had a flashback to the last days before winter break and found herself terrified that this was going to be a repeat incident. The girl had a tight grip as it seemed no matter how much Usagi squirmed she couldn't get out of it.

"Please, it's not my dress." Usagi pleaded trying to back away from Yuki came up to her seeming to be examining the bottom half of the dress. She knew where this was going her mind flashing back to one too many ruined school uniforms. Or at least that's where she hoped it was going. Ruined school uniforms had been the least of her problems at times when dealing with Yuki and her group.

"Then they will learn a lesson in letting you borrow one of her dresses." The unidentified girl sneered.

The next few minutes felt like an eternity as she could pretty much do nothing as Yuki and the other girl tore into the dress. She tried and failed to keep herself from showing how upset she was. Especially when the two of them found a seam along the midriff of the dress and used it to tear off the bottom half of dress. Before tossing it into a toilet. She could hear the splashing of the toilet as Yuki (or she assumed it was Yuki at least) tried to force the bottom half of the dress into the toilet.

"Now everyone here will know you're a legless whore." Yuki said sneering as she came back to Usagi's front. Usagi had lost the fight long ago to not cry in front of Yuki. "That should be enough. Come on Kira, Marri. We have a ball to return too." Yuki said turning and walking away. Kira finally released her and sidestepped over her following Yuki. The final girl Marri didn't even spare her a glance for a moment before following.

She waited for a moment, hearing the bathroom door open and close before her shoulders sagged in relief. It was over at least. She wiped her eyes trembling slightly trying to figure out what to do now. Picking up the bottom half out of the toilet nearly got her started again. The dress was probably ruined at this point. She had no clue how she was going to explain this Michiru.

Then there was the fact that she couldn't stay in the bathroom forever she had to leave the embassy eventually. Which meant she would have to face the crowd in a ruined dress. Even if she used the subspace pocket to store the bottom half of the dress everyone would still see her legs. She couldn't stand the thought of all the stares following her around. For both the ruined dress and her now exposed legs. Sitting back down on the toilet seat running a hand through her bangs wondering what she was going to do now.

Usagi tensed hearing the bathroom door open. Hoping that it wasn't Yuki coming back for more. "Usagi?" she heard Naru call and relaxed slightly. At least it was someone she knew she could trust.

"In here Naru." Usagi called, unable to keep the tears out of her voice.

"Oh Usagi what happened?" Naru said, horrified, as she caught sight of her. Not at Usagi but whoever ruined the dress and left her friend in such a state. If this was back at Juuban she would have assumed that it was Yuki. Ruining Usagi's clothes had been a favorite past time of hers. But as far as she knew the other girl wasn't in attendance. Or one of her cronies.

"Yuki and a couple of her groupies." Usagi said between sniffles.

"She's here?" Naru said paling slightly. She hadn't spotted Usagi's longtime bully in the crowd, but then again, there were a lot of people at the ball. The only bright side here was that what Yuki could do was limited because of the environment. Still, that obviously hadn't stopped this from occurring.

"They cornered me when I came in here to use the restroom. I didn't see her in the crowd but she obviously saw me. Now I'm going to have to explain to Michiru how her dress got ruined…" Usagi said dissolving back into tears again. She was not looking forward to that particular conversation.

"Usagi, it's just a dress. I doubt she will be mad considering it's not your fault to begin with." Naru said kneeling in front of her. Knowing where her friend's thoughts about the other's emotions had probably gone to first. She quickly sent a text to the other two asking for them to come to the bathroom. The only one who would be able to calm Usagi at this point would be Michiru since, probably, some of the hysteria was from the fact it was her dress that Yuki had ruined. "Did she do anything else?"

"No. She just ripped the dress and called me the usual names. Said she was going to make sure everyone at the ball was going to know I was a legless whore." Usagi admitted sniffing a bit. Anything else would have definitely caused an incident where she wouldn't have been able to escape the blame.

"I thought she had finally backed off after the incident before the new year I guess not." Naru said frowning slightly.

"She backed off because of the school officials remember? There's no one here to keep her from backing off." Usagi pointed.

"Naru, Usagi." Anything else was cut off by Haruka and Michiru arriving in the bathroom.

"Last stall." Naru called back.

"You called them?" Usagi asked. She wasn't sure if she was ready yet to deal with Michiru's anger over the dress…

"Yes. Look at me Usagi. It will be fine." Naru tried to reassure her friend.

"What happened?" Haruka asked eyes flashing angrily for a moment as she took in distraught Usagi. The last they had seen of either girl everything had seemed fine. What in the world had happened in under 20 minutes to leave Usagi in such a state? She knew where her mind was going initially and she really hoped that wasn't the case.

Michiru managed to pry the bottom half of the dress out of Usagi's hands. Her mind first going to how to possibly fix the situation. But as she looked at the bottom she wasn't sure if they could, not easily at least. It was ripped in several places along with being ripped along the seam that separated it from where the top half was supposed to be. A few water stains made her think that it had been thrown in the toilet too. Whoever had done this had known exactly what they were doing. The bottom half of the dress was pretty much ruined at this point. Whoever had targeted Usagi had made sure of it. Even if they could find a way to repair it to just finish up the night the state of it meant Usagi would be drawing unwanted attention.

"Yuki." Naru said as Usagi sobbed.

"Your bully from school she's here?" Haruka asked a bit surprised. Maybe she could finally get some payback for whatever it was Usagi had been put through at Juuban…

Usagi nodded her head. Hiccupping for a moment before speaking. "I didn't know she was. If I had known…"

"Usagi would have probably made sure to go in with someone else. This isn't the first instance something like this has happened with Yuki." Naru added. Her and Usagi had pretty much tried to go to the restroom at the same time back at Juuban to prevent the others from getting a jump on her. It didn't always work though.

"She did this a lot at Juuban?" Michiru asked realizing what was being implied deciding to sub space the bottom half for now. It was useless at this point. Maybe there was some disguise magic Usagi could use until they could leave.

"I went through probably a dozen school uniforms because of her." Usagi admitted still not looking at Michiru afraid that she was mad at her for the state of her dress. Sometimes Yuki liked to rip the clothes like she had tonight. Other times she had taken either her gym or school uniform clothes and tossed them in the trash when she hadn't been looking.

"Usagi. Look at me. It's okay. A dress can be fixed with the right seamstress. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at her. Did she do anything else?" Michiru asked Usagi looked like no from what she could tell but best to ask. Right now she was mad yes but not at Usagi, at this Yuki who continued to evade her being able to identify and concerned that there was more damage Yuki had done than tear a dress in half.

The only good thing about this was she might be able to get her hands on the guest list she could get a full name to this Yuki. If this hadn't been in an embassy she might have been able to pull some strings to see the security footage but that was highly unlikely to happen on foreign soil.

"Just called me a few names like the usual." Usagi said starting to calm down now that she could see Michiru wasn't angry at her for ruining the dress. "Said she was going to make sure everyone at the ball knew I was a legless whore…" Usagi dissolved into tears again.

The more Michiru heard about this girl, the more she hated her. And she didn't even know all of what had happened at Juuban yet. Michiru didn't even reprimand Haruka when she started muttering about slapping Yuki if she ever met her. She may not have been one to get into fights outside of being Neptune but she wanted to give the girl a bit of her own medicine. Yuki would live to regret the days she tormented sweet Usagi. Michiru had every intention of making sure of that fact.

"So what are we going to do for now?" Michiru asked after a moment. She wasn't sure what could be done but she wasn't going to let this Yuki win this particular 'fight'.

Haruka thought for a moment before adding. "I might be able to give you a ride home if they agree to let me back in. You don't need to be here, necessarily, for the crystal reveal. We all got the same description Luna gave. We can just as easily confirm or deny it."

"That doesn't solve the problem of people seeing me before we get to the car though." Usagi sniffed a bit. That sounded like the best plan but there was still the fact that they would have to walk quite a ways and be seen by who knows how many people before getting to the car.

Naru couldn't believe she was about to suggest this but it was the only solution at the moment. "What about the Luna Pen? It can't fix the dress but it can at least hide the fact that it got ruined."

Usagi blinked a few times in surprise that she hadn't thought of it before. In her hysteria and tears over the whole incident, she had nearly the pen. It was a temporary solution but at least it meant that she would be able to see the reveal and get out with raising a lot of questions. Well except maybe Yuki. Maybe if she made it a different dress it would draw less attention. "That might actually work."

* * *

Truth be told she had wanted to just leave and walk home after the run-in with Yuki but she had promised Luna that she would check and make sure the crystal that belonged to the D-Kingdom wasn't the same crystal that belonged to the Lunar Royal Family. Besides part of her felt leaving after Yuki had shown up would be letting the other girl win.

"Well, at least that simplifies things. I can't imagine trying to explain to two governments why we need a royal heirloom." Usagi commented. What felt like an eternity later the heirloom crystal to the D-Kingdom had been revealed. While none of them were sure what the Ginzishou was supposed to look like, Usagi was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to look like the first queen of an Earth Kingdom... So they were safe from having to retrieve the crystal. That would have caused some sort of incident.

"No, that wouldn't have gone over very well." Naru agreed making a face.

"Did Luna give you a better description what the crystal looked like?" Michiru asked frowning. With the reveal happening her and Haruka were on break. So they were hanging with the other two as the crystal was put on display. Now, seeing the thing it seemed highly unlikely that it was this Ginzishou Luna had mentioned but still…

"No, but if this crystal of hers is based on the first queen of an Earth Kingdom then I have a whole new set of questions." Usagi responded. Especially considering where the Ginzishou was originally supposed to come from. "We can always show her photos online to check later." Really their main reason for being there was passed. The Dark Kingdom threat had been nullified and they had seen the crystal.

"That is true." Michiru agreed.

"It almost looks like a weird Statue of Liberty." Haruka commented under her breath after a moment.

"Haruka." Michiru scolded.

"What? It does!" Haruka said.

"I'm with Haruka on this one." Naru added. "It may be a crystal and have different features but the whole torch thing screams statue of Liberty."

"See!" Haruka stated.

Michiru frowned looking back at the crystal again. "All right you may have a point but don't say it loud enough so the natives can hear you."

"Ah there's Sanjouin." Naru said after a moment spotting the brunette in the crowd. He had disappeared right around the time the whole incident with the crown princess had started. "I'll see you guys later." Before she herself disappeared into the crowd after her date.

"Isn't that the guy Luna suspects is Nephrite?" Haruka asked after Naru was out of earshot.

"Yes." Usagi

"And she's dating him?" Haruka said raising an eyebrow. "You have told her about Luna's suspicions, right?"

"She knows. Or at least I thought she did. She seemed to be conveniently forgetful about it earlier tonight, considering the fact that she kept questioning why I had my reservations about him." Usagi said frowning. "We are going to have a long talk about this tomorrow." Usagi sighed before continuing once more. "Let's get out of here before the illusion wears off."

End Chapter 14

Added bonus drawing of Usagi and Naru in their ball dresses:

A big thanks to Tsukikageshi for drawing this. Designs are not up for grabs since while they are inspired by some other dresses they are their own original design. So do not take.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this week.
> 
> First off thanks again to everyone for the reviews. With the last two weeks of school being rough it was a real pick me up as I pushed through finals.
> 
> In hindsight I probably should have clarified I would never put the fic up for ransom as I like to call it. I'm not the type. Lack of reviews maybe demotivating but I wouldn't stop over them. But it does make it harder to write at times without some feedback.
> 
> And I do know lack of reviews doesn't exactly mean you guys hated a chapter some level. But mentally due to my own personal issues sometimes its hard to remember that at times.
> 
> So yeah thank you. Seriously thank you.
> 
> Graduation's tomorrow. It's been a long time for me personally. It feels so weird to realize I won't be walking through those doors on a regular basis. But I am getting off topic. Main reason I brought it up is to mention if you guys have questions I will be pretty much off the radar for the next 24 hours until the ceremony is over.
> 
> One more thing I'm getting an art done of Usagi's dress in the chapter. So once its done I'll update this again with the pic. 
> 
> Please remember to review and see you on the 25th!


	15. Nephrite's Crisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And welcome back to for chapter 15.
> 
> Thank you to everyone for all the lovely reviews. Please remember to keep living them.
> 
> Thank you again to tsukikageshi for betaing the chapter.
> 
> And on with the show.

Chapter 15

Nephrite's Crisis

"Usagi, you're going to want to see this." Her mother said, stunned, handing her an envelope a couple of days later. The start of a new school year was fast approaching with the spring semester set to start in a few weeks. So she was expecting to hear from Juuban about her status soon. However, that didn't look like the Juuban logo on the envelope that her Mom was holding out.

"This is from Mugen Gaken." Usagi, surprised, fingered the envelope's seal a bit after she got a better look at it. This was a surprise. Even though they had applied for the program she hadn't expected to actually hear from them after the way the interview had ended.

"Yes, I was surprised we got anything from them but it is approaching the start of a new school year. Why don't you open it? Maybe it will be some good news?" Her Mom encouraged hopefully.

She hesitated, true she wanted the letter to contain some sort of good news. That would be a nice change of pace after the last few weeks, but she didn't exactly share her mother's hopes. She had read the writing on the wall. In all likelihood, she just could see it being an update on her waitlist status at best. At worst... a denial. Things just hadn't been going her way and she just couldn't fathom how things would suddenly change now. Looking once more to her mother's hopeful countenance, she smiled a shaky smile hoping not to see her mother's hopes dashed. Opening the letter reading the opening line, blinked, and then reread it again. It couldn't be! It shouldn't be by what they were told last year and yet. Numb. This couldn't possibly be real. "It says I've been accepted."

"Oh, this is wonderful news! This should solve most of your problems with school!" Her Mom said face lighting up, clearly not sharing her disbelief. It wouldn't solve every single school-related issue. There was still the fact her timing was off and dealing with the medical stuff, but being put into a more self-paced program would help a lot.

Usagi was curious, as the situation began to sink in. It had been pretty clear, during the interview they had at Mugen, that they had no intention of accepting her no matter her place on the waitlist. She knew Haruka and Michiru attended Mugen Gaken and Setsuna's office was located on the outskirts of the triangle. Usagi suspected one of them had a hand in this. Considering back when Michiru had offered to try and get her in and she had turned her down afraid they would learn of her legs, her condition. She was suspicious, though not ungrateful, that Michiru might have made some moves on her own after the events of the last few weeks. She doubted she would be able to confirm either way that they had a hand in her sudden acceptance to the school, well besides asking.

"We're going to have do something about the commute." Usagi muttered to herself. It wasn't that Mugen Gaken was that far it was just with her enlisted in this program she would need to be closer to the school.

"We will figure something out. Maybe we can get the school to agree to a housing allowance as part of the conditions of enrollment." Her mother assured making a face at the thought of the new predicament. Even with Usagi's side job, housing in the Triangle wasn't exactly on the cheap side.

* * *

"You're not surprised that I suddenly got admitted to Mugen Gaken." Usagi spoke her thoughts aloud. It was later the same day after finding out she had got the letter she was telling the girls the good news.

"I might have pulled a few strings." Michiru admitted with some hesitation. Well, that made the most sense and confirmed her earlier suspicions. She didn't know much about Michiru's family other than the brief contact they had had with her sister but what she did know made it seem like she had that kind of power to pull off something like this. Plus, Michiru had hinted at it before.

"You don't look too surprised by that comment." Haruka noted.

"I'm not entirely surprised. I suspected. I'm grateful." Usagi admitted with a slight shrug.

"You're taking it better then we thought you would." Haruka admitted. They hadn't really been sure how Usagi would respond to Michiru's mechanisms. They had both agreed that for several reasons moving Usagi to their school made more sense than leaving her at Juuban. That didn't mean they were sure she was going to take it well.

"Before, I was afraid that if I accepted help with it then you would find out about my legs and view me as less for missing mine. Considering how desperate things at school have gotten, I think I really am just grateful to have an out than anything. Plus, there is some positivity to having us all in the same school now." Usagi explained. Truly if things hadn't been so bad with her at Juuban she would probably have been extremely mad at them, making decisions for her and pulling strings this way. Right now, she felt more of a deep relief, which was definitely rooted in the fact that she would only have to set foot on Juuban's campus one more time to retrieve her old school records.

"So what now? Have you already found a place to stay?" Michiru asked.

Usagi shook her head. "No, we are going to look tomorrow. We want to check out the neighborhood anyway so we thought we would drop off the forms in person at the same time." She admitted. She wasn't sure where they were going to find a decent place to live. Even with the supplemental budgets, Mugen Gaken was in an expensive neighborhood.

"Are your parents moving with you?" Michiru asked frowning slightly.

"No, Dad prefers to stay where he is because of work and I don't think Mom is ready to move quiet yet." Usagi sighed. Maybe if they were moving out of an apartment and back into a house, maybe. They didn't quite have the money to buy a new house, even with the money set aside with the government subsidy from being a Senshi.

* * *

"You said you haven't found anywhere you feel is reasonable in the triangle so far right?" Michiru asked. It was a few days later and since things had been kind of quiet on the Dark Kingdom front they were just having a small semi-normal get together at the Crown Arcade. Nephrite hadn't reared his head since the D Kingdom Embassy incident and Luna had nothing new to report. So it was safe to be somewhere more open since there wasn't any real chance they would end up talking about the Dark Kingdom today.

"Yeah, we haven't been able to find one so far." Usagi admitted. She had been hoping they would have found something by this point. So far, no luck. Everything, it seemed, was either too expensive or still too out of the way of the school if it was reasonably priced.

"I mean as long as you have no problem with our relationship there shouldn't be any problems having you around. The place is big enough that we can retreat to other parts of it for more private time without intruding on you or the other way around." Haruka offered up looking off to the side as if caught being a softie would tarnish her reputation. Usagi blinked once. Just how big was there place anyway? She had only been a couple of times, and while it had seemed big she really hadn't seen the entirety of it. They had usually met at Naru's place since it was the easiest and drew the least amount of attention. It also didn't require Luna having to be snuck in. Suddenly Usagi was curious about exactly how big Michiru and Haruka's place really was.

"We talked about this when we were on vacation. I have no problems with you two being together. I just don't want to feel like I'm intruding." Usagi shrugged.

"Usagi I think you know us well enough to know we wouldn't invite most people over for an hour let alone to live with us." Michiru pointed out. Usagi frowned at this slightly. That was true…

"I think its a good idea. Maybe I can finally move out of Naru's house?" Luna decided to put her own two cents in with the question hanging overhead.

"We're not actually sure what the apartment building's pet policy is. We'll see what we can do." Michiru admitted after a moment with a frown. Usagi guessed they had never fully checked it out during the previous visits since she and Luna were visitors and not residents.

Everyone was silent waiting for Usagi. After a moment she seemed to come to a decision. "Mom and dad would like that. I know they worry." Usagi was clearly leaning towards it but not quite committing yet. There was still at least the factor of talking to her parents but the offer was very tempting. The whole not commuting half a city to get to school made it very tempting indeed, but also, she was pretty sure her parents would agree for the points already stated. They worried. Plain and simple.

"Plus with you and Naru getting in trouble, we could at least have a better jump on it if we're all more centrally located." Haruka commented.

"I'm not-" Usagi began before cutting herself off as she realized they actually did have a point kind of. Between the concert, the mall incident arguably, her actions at the clock store, and so on she didn't exactly have the best track record of not getting into trouble. Of course, thinking back... Naru also has a penchant for being exactly where she shouldn't. Shoulders sagged in defeat. Whether she liked it or not, Haruka was right. "I am trying to be better."

Michiru shook her head slightly seeming to be a bit amused by the statement. "Having us all in the same place and not across town certainly isn't a bad idea."

"I still need to run this by my parents." Usagi commented absently lost in thought. While her parents knew the older girls somewhat they had only met each other a few times. With so many of the get together having taken place elsewhere due to the fact Luna wasn't allowed in her apartment building.

"That's fine but the soon as you decide let us know. At the very least we should get you on the lease as soon as possible." Michiru pointed out. Getting Usagi added shouldn't be a problem but the sooner things got done the sooner they could settle into a routine.

* * *

"I can't believe I won't have to wear this stupid uniform anymore." Usagi enthused to Naru. She was holding up the uniform to Naru that she had worn for what had felt like the longest year of her life. It was a few days after Haruka and Michiru had offered to let her move in and she was beginning the process of packing up everything she wanted there. It was a bit slow going because they kept getting distracted by various things.

"Hey don't go dissing it too much. I still have another year there." Naru said frowning slightly. Well, that might be changing also but she was still waiting to hear and Usagi wasn't aware of her own pending application. She wasn't going to mention it unless the application went through. No reason to get Usagi's hopes up if she didn't know for sure she would be accepted.

"I know, I know." Usagi soothed her friend before playfully continuing "But then, soon you'll be done with it too." Well done with Juuban Middle at least.

"I'm not sure why you dislike it so much. It's not too bad of a uniform compared to some schools." Naru said turning back to the dress drawer they had been going through and pulling out a shirt and handing it to Usagi who took one look at it and tossed it in the growing donate bin.

"No. But its just another reminder of just how much trouble I've dealt with the last several months. As soon as I get the new uniform for Mugen Gaken, this is going in the trash where it belongs." Usagi's voice, while softer held a bit of determination. The Juuban uniform wasn't even coming with her to Haruka and Michiru's place. No reason to take it. Usagi wasn't planning on wearing it ever again. She had just pulled it out of the closet for old time sakes while packing her own stuff.

"Still, can't believe you actually managed to get into Mugen Gaken." Naru said picking up one of their old textbooks. Even knowing what Michiru had been up to before Usagi had found out. It still was a bit of a surprise that she had pulled it off and a relief. No more having to worry about Yuki.

"Yeah I can't even begin to express how thankful I am towards Michiru for managing to get me in the program. Even if it still feels weird that I got in that way I think I am going to be happier there then I ever as at Juuban." Usagi admitted frowning slightly. Now that she had more time to process the situation she was a bit embarrassed at how she had gotten in but she still felt that the overwhelming feeling towards it was that she was grateful. Grateful she didn't have to deal with Yuki for another year, grateful that she should have a better teacher, and just grateful to have those two as friends.

"You're not worried about bullying at Mugen Gaken?" Naru asked shifting the subject slightly. She had a feeling Haruka and Michiru would scare most Yuki types off but they wouldn't be around constantly either. Different classes and all that. Naru was deeply worried for her friend. At Mugen, she wouldn't be there either. Usagi would not know most of the people at Mugen at all. She hoped for Usagi's sake her new classmates were a lot better people then her Juuban classmates had been.

"I have a feeling if someone tries to do it at Mugen Gaken there going to end up regretting it. Maybe its because they are my Senshi but I have this feeling with them like I am safe and they would keep me that way no matter what." Usagi confessed in a voice so soft Naru almost had to strain to hear the last part. Both girls could be scary in their own ways when they wanted to be but she had a feeling just being friends with them alone would scare off most prospective bullies. Still, that didn't explain that feeling nor how deep it went. Warm, safe, and even a little stronger herself.

"I know that the two are in a relationship. Aren't you a little bit worried about seeing something you would rather not see?" Naru asked.

Usagi's cheeks turned red at the sudden image of Harka and Michiru kissing before she shook it off. "Not really. I didn't see anything at the beach house and I don't think that will change. The way they usually behave, I don't think it will be a problem." Usagi said with a shrug of her shoulders. Plus the penthouse was large enough that they could probably get up to stuff without her being the wiser. "That is true." Naru said with a shrug of her shoulders before she continued with an impish expression. "So are you curious Usagi-chan?" Usagi just blinked looking lost. Naru seemed to take this as a go ahead. "How Michiru and Haruka make love as two women. I heard someone say that a woman knows a woman's body best you know. I bet it's so romantic. It's too bad two women can't have kids. I bet they would make adorable babies together." Naru stopped. "Usagi?" Usagi's face was beat red from her shoulders to the tips of her ears and the roots of her hair. Suddenly, Usagi breathed. " _ **NARU!**_ "

Naru just laughed, her plan to fluster Usagi having worked, before changing the subject entirely. "So what was it about Masato that you were hesitating to tell me at the ball?"

Usagi hesitated for a moment. She needed to tell Naru but she wished Luna was here to back her up since she wasn't sure how well Naru was going to take the possible revelation. Naru frowned after a moment. "Usagi-"

"I just don't want to get you too worried if we turn out wrong." Usagi said with some hesitance. They had talked about the possibility of Masato and Nephrite being the same person but she guessed Naru was so enamored by him that she had forgotten that little bit of conversation in the last few weeks.

"Usagi, I appreciate the concern but I would rather know whatever it is." Naru confessed.

Usagi sighed for a moment before speaking as if something would break if she spoke too loudly or insisted at all. "Okay Luna thinks, and I kind of agree with her, that there is possibility Masato Sanjouin might be Nephrite."

Naru frowned at that. "You can't be serious. He's such a sweet guy I can't imagine someone like that working for someone like them. "

"I am, we are." Usagi corrected after a second. "Look it may be nothing but his timing and the timing with the youma plots are a bit too coincidental."

"Just because he was at the Embassy the night of the attempted theft doesn't mean he's a general. There were a lot of guys there." Naru pointed out frowning.

Usagi hardened at this, clearly, Naru had forgotten. "Naru, he sponsored the photo contest. I brought up the possibility of them being the same person, to you, at that time. He owned the wedding shop and he is a backer of the anime studio making the anime about the senshi. The animator that got possessed was approached by him before the youma showed up. Her friend confirmed that. There's just too many little things that point to it being something more to ignore the possibility of him not being Nephrite, or at the very least, involved." Usagi listed off the things he had been tied to that were actually Dark Kingdom plots that she could remember. She could understand a bit why Naru wanted to maybe stay in denial but that didn't change the fact that there were a lot of suspiciously timed events involving him and the youma. "The only time since he took over from Jadeite that I didn't see him involved with something that turned out to be a youma fight was the night at the mall and you told me yourself that the first time you met him was at the mall the night of the incident."

Naru chewed on her lip for a moment before finally saying, "What if it's all a misunderstanding?" She genuinely liked Masato and there was something about him that she was naturally drawn to though she wasn't sure what. She couldn't deny it was a bit suspicious how many times the two of them showed up at the same place at nearly the same times. That didn't stop her from hoping that they weren't the same person though.

"Naru just please be careful. I'm not going to ask you to break it off with him. I am not going to even question why you're so interested in him. Just be careful. He may not be Nephrite. It might be a wild coincidence. I'm just asking you to be careful Naru.  _ **Please**_ _be careful._ " Usagi stated. To be quiet honest she would prefer Naru broke it off and be safe about it, but she just couldn't bring herself to demand that of her friend.

"I appreciate your honesty but I hope you're wrong." Naru confessed. That was a huge secret to be keeping in a relationship, even if there's wasn't that formal. Yeah, she was intrigued why something had always felt familiar about him but enough to continue after finding out he might work for the enemy of her best friend? Not really.

* * *

It was a few nights later when everything got turned on its head. Luna had been quietly training Sailor Moon in an empty corner of the park on the healing spells when Nephrite had seemed to come out of the blue. Sailor Moon tensed a bit, hitting a button on her communicator to tell the others that she had run into trouble before turning her full attention to Nephrite. The only good thing that she could see was he was alone, no youma in sight. Interesting…

"Easy. I come in peace." Nephrite said holding his hands up defensively before dropping the general guise and reverting to his civilian self. Well, Naru wasn't going to be pleased to know that Masato Sanjouin was, undeniably, Nephrite. Though... Good chance he couldn't use whatever powers he had in civilian form. "I just want a chance to talk. You know how to use healing spells yes?" Masato entreated.

"I'm training in them, yes." Sailor Moon agreed. She hadn't had much chance to use them really but she did have training. Even if there wasn't a ton of it so far.

"I would like to officially desert from the Dark Kingdom." Nephrite stated.

Sailor Moon felt Luna tense in surprise next to her leg. She guessed not many people decided to leave the Dark Kingdom in Luna's experience. She frowned slightly she wasn't opposed to the idea far from it. Making Beryl lose someone under her without having to do harm to them sounded like the best idea she had heard in a long time. Sailor Moon worried though if the needed spell might be beyond her current capability at the moment. Still, she needed to know. "Why?"

"Because I want a chance to start living without attachments to the Dark Kingdom. A few weeks ago I started remembering a life before I was Beryl's general. I want to understand what I'm remembering. Talk about life before the Dark Kingdom for its inhabitants is prohibited. I'll never be able to seek the answers I desire there. For me since as long as I can remember my life has been the Dark Kingdom. That's all my life has been, serving Queen Beryl. I won't say it's the greatest thing but it's all I've known. Then I met someone and I started to remember a life before the Dark Kingdom. A lost love, a prince I served, a life a lot better than the one I currently have or can under Beryl's regime. I don't understand some of what I've remembered but I am clear on one thing. I can't do what I desire while serving under Beryl." Nephrite explained.

Before Sailor Moon could question any further about the semi cryptic answers Uranus and Neptune arrived coming to stand on either side of her. Uranus eyed her for a second. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, we've just been talking. I hit the emergency button because I wasn't sure why Nephrite had shown up at first. He wants to leave. He wants me to heal him." Moon reassured Uranus. It was the truth.

"So you are Nephrite then?" Neptune asked turning to her full attention to the now civilian general. "Why the change in plans? We certainly never interacted much but you never indicated prior that you were interested in leaving the Dark Kingdom."

"It was something I only decided recently. I want to find my prince. I know enough now to know I had one and he's supposed to be my one true commander. I may not be able to undo what I have done but I would like a chance to try." Nephrite explained. He had been on the fence about leaving for a while, after a few meetings with Naru he had been intrigued by the past he had forgotten. It hadn't been until the incident at the ball where he had seen more than just a lost love life that he had begun to question just how much he had forgotten. Maybe life was better outside of the Dark Kingdom, however one couldn't just up and desert the Dark Kingdom. Beryl would use her connection with him to send youma after him no matter where he went if he tried that. Thus was precisely why he had reached out to the one person he thought might be able to break his connection with Beryl, Sailor Moon.

"Give us a moment." Uranus said before pulling Moon and Neptune off to the side and away from where he should be able to over hear them.

"I think we should do it. If he truly wants to be rid of his connections with the Dark Kingdom who are we to deny him." Sailor Moon argued. He seemed to be sincere on the matter of leaving the Dark Kingdom. "Plus it would rid Beryl of one of her generals without anyone getting hurt."

"It's just kind of weird Moon. Neither he or Jadeite ever showed any inclinations of being anything more then a Beryl crony before now." Uranus argued. Ultimately it was Moon's decision to perform the spell since she was the one doing the casting but that didn't mean she didn't want to throw her two cents in about how she felt about the situation.

"Maybe Jadeite didn't have a trigger for whatever memories Nephrite is referring too?" Sailor Moon suggested. She was kind of curious what had made Nephrite start remembering his pre Dark Kingdom past but now wasn't the time to find that out. She did have a suspicion that the key was a certain girl with wine red hair and jade green eyes. Or at least that she was one of them. If she was right, yeah there was no surprise there, that Jadeite hadn't started remembering his real memories. From what little she had known about the general he sounded very ornery and probably hadn't gotten close enough to anyone to trigger his true memories. This also held the possibility of Naru being part of things... but in what capacity?

"Still you think we would have noticed something considering how much we run into the generals." Neptune said frowning glancing back in the direction of where Masato was standing.

"Yes, like we have so much time to get to know them." Moon said with her voice dripping sarcasm before going serious again. "Look if one of us were in a reverse of this situation wouldn't you want them to be granted this same chance?" She had to admit she was really digging the idea of ridding themselves of an enemy without causing harm. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get to everyone that was being controlled by Beryl and save them but if she could get to some of them that made things so much better.

Neptune let out a sigh at that, "That is a solid point but you have to understand our hesitations on the matter. Even if we do rid him of the bonds with the Dark Kingdom whats not to keep him from going back for some reason?"

"He wouldn't be able to. The spell I would have Sailor Moon use would rid him of any connection to the dark kingdom. He may reclaim abilities from before it but nothing from his time with them.. It is doubtful he could return anyway." Luna said putting her two cents in for the first time. Truth be told, the only hesitation she had was she wasn't sure Usagi was really ready for that level of healing spell but there were ways around the matter. She agreed with Moon. The idea of being able to rid Beryl of a general without harming them was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Okay let's say we do go through with this. Can it be done tonight or do we have to wait until Moon has better training in healing spells?" Neptune asked frowning. She knew Moon was training in healing spells but considering she had just gotten the compact she had little experience with them. The spell Luna was describing sounded quite powerful. So that brought up the concern if she could even manage a spell of that magnitude at this point.

"Luna?" Moon asked turning to Luna again. She had no clue how much power would be needed to power the kind of spell they were talking about.

"You would have to draw energy off the others to power it. Then yes we can do it tonight but even then, it will probably leave you wiped out Moon for a couple of days." Luna explained. The other two would probably have a bit of exhaustion but since Usagi was the one mainly powering the spell she would be the one that felt the effects of it the most.

"Not us?" Neptune asked quirking an eyebrow. That was an odd designation Luna had made.

Luna shook her head. "While you will be sharing energy, Moon will still be the main power source behind the spell. You two might be a bit tired from it but you'll probably won't even feel it tomorrow. Moon on the other hand will be feeling it a few days."

"It is safe?" Uranus asked frowning.

"Yes. If Moon was solo powering it she would be out for longer but would still be okay. It's just the energy sharing should allow her to bounce back quicker. Considering the circumstances, we don't know how quickly Beryl will act to replace Nephrite. It is best not for her to not be out of commission for very long." Luna explained. She wouldn't have okayed the idea of using the spell at all if she thought it might endanger Moon's life with or without assistance from the others.

"I don't want to be a nuisance." Moon muttered after a moment. For some reason having to burrow the other's energy made her feel like she was being a literal and figurative drain on the others.

Luna let out an annoyed huff. "Moon, this isn't a matter of being a nuisance at this point if you want to perform the spell tonight your going to need the other's help. I normally wouldn't clear you for using this spell this soon but I am concerned if we let Nephrite go we may not get this chance again."

"How do we do this?" Neptune asked tilting her head slightly. And why hadn't it been brought up before. This could have come in handy in other situations, like Dreamland.

"Physical contact for now between the three of you. You know how you draw on your magical cores when you're looking to power your attacks?" Luna asked.

"Never really thought about it." Uranus commented frankly. Now that Luna was bringing it up the feeling sounded right but there had never been really any thought put into what or how they constructed their attacks.

"You probably don't think about it unless your looking to put more effort into your attacks then normal. If you've ever purposely drawn to more power into your attacks, you would have felt the sensation of tapping into the core even if you weren't aware of it at the time. We are going to use the same technique here but instead of powering an attack you'll be using the core to push energy through the physical link with Moon." Luna explained. Well that wouldn't help Neptune but Uranus did kind of know what Luna was talking about from that time she had one shotted the wedding shop youma.

"Do we have to have physical contact when we do this every time?" Neptune asked frowning slightly thinking ahead. Sending energy to one another could be a really useful tool in certain situations. It would have come in handy at Dreamland with helping Usagi after the youma. But if they had to maintain physical contact every time to transfer energy that would eliminate a bit of its usefulness.

"No, eventually you'll be able to use your senshi bonds to do this. It's just that takes more training than any of you currently have right now." Luna explained shaking her head.

Neptune frowned for a moment. That was something that hadn't been brought up before by Luna. "Senshi bonds?"

"The bond that exists between senshi teams as part of the contract you all invoke to become Senshi from what I understand. I don't quite remember all the semantics about them. I'm not even sure if I would be able to explain it all that well if I did." Luna confessed. Her job during the Silver Alliance's time was more as an advisor to the queen, to be honest. The senshi were fairly self-run back in those days. She had enough passing knowledge to help train Moon and help the others but there were times she had more knowledge then what she could remember.

Uranus and Neptune exchanged a glance for a moment frowning. That was the first they had heard mention of a senshi based bond. But it made sense to a respect they had a bond of sorts with Moon and a different one with Pluto from what they could tell. Still, the bond they shared felt different somehow from the one they shared with Pluto, as well it still didn't explain their own hesitations when it came to talking about the bond. If these were senshi bonds that were commonplace from the way Luna talked, then why did they feel uneasy when they tried to talk about it?

"Is something the matter?" Luna asked looking between the two of them with a frown. That hadn't been exactly the reaction, if any, she had been anticipating to the talk about the Senshi bonds.

"It's nothing." Neptune said turning her attention back to Luna. They couldn't afford to have the conversation about their bonds at the moment. It would be way too long and complicated and they didn't have all evening. Luna raised an eyebrow for a moment before deciding to drop it. Now wasn't the time to bother them over whatever it was that had bothered them about her comment about the bonds. A conversation for another time.

"Just how much physical contact are we talking here?" Uranus decided to move the subject back to how they were actually going to power the spell. They were going to have own up and talk to Luna about it eventually but that didn't make the idea of doing so any more easier to her or Neptune.

"A simple hand on one arm each should suffice." Luna said. "Most of the task is mental so you two will have to concentrate on drawing your energy from your core. your energy should naturally flow into Moon."

"Same command as usual or am I using something else?" Moon asked seeming to have accepted the situation.

"No, the Moon Healing Escalation should work. Just put more power behind it." Luna answered. Technically there wasn't much above the Healing Escalation spell if any that she was aware of. After this, you crossed over into the territory of healing involving the Ginzishou which Moon wouldn't be capable of. How powerful and how well the healing spell worked depended truly on how much power was put behind it. For Moon, it wasn't a matter of being able to perform the spell but being able to perform it at the level that would be required to heal Nephrite.

"If it matters at all, I am willing to share whatever might be useful to fighting the Dark Kingdom." Masato offered as they returned to the clearing they had been talking in earlier. He had thought about it and decided that there was nothing for him to lose from offering what he knew about the Dark Kingdom. Luna perked up at that. It was definitely a benefit to get some insider knowledge on how the Dark Kingdom ran. Might be the only chance they would get unless they could somehow get to the other Dark Kingdom generals.

"You're really putting it all out there." Uranus said whistling slightly. The offer was appreciated if a bit unexpected.

"No reason not to. With me becoming a civilian they become a danger to me as much as other people." Masato pointed out. He was willing to trade his powers, for now, to get out of Beryl's thumb and to recall his true past. But that didn't put him in any less danger from the Dark Kingdom especially as a soon to be labeled traitor. If he could aid in the takedown of the Dark Kingdom and in his own safety then he was definitely going to try and be helpful.

"It is appreciated and I'll definitely take you up on that. We can take care of your connection to the Dark Kingdom right here, right now. Unless you have some last minute business to take care of the Dark Kingdom?" Luna asked quirking an eyebrow.

"No, it is best to be done tonight. If I delay too long I risk discovery." Masato said shaking his head. He had been able to use Beryl's lack of interest in non-Dark Kingdom matters to his advantage so far. Still, it was probably only a matter of time before she discovered his intentions. Best to get out from under her thumb now.

"You ready Sailor Moon?" Luna asked turning to her.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Moon said more to herself than to anyone else as Uranus and Neptune took positions on opposite sides of her to help power the spell. Uranus taking a hold of her right arm and Neptune her left. Usagi let out a nervous breath before opening the compact.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Moon said officially activating the spell putting as much energy and effort behind it as she could muster. She could sort of register the energy flowing from the others over the bond but she didn't pay it much mind. Her concentration was better spent on keeping the spell at full power. It didn't take long for her to start feeling a tiredness beginning to creep over her, nothing really bad at this point but still there though she suspected it would increase the longer she powered the spell. She could see a dark mist starting to form above Masato, hopefully, that meant it wouldn't be much longer before he was rid of the Dark Kingdom's bonds. "Almost got it Moon. Just a bit more." Luna encouraged as the dark mist rose further above Masato growing in size. As soon as the mist stopped growing and dissipated her job would be done.

After a moment the dark mist stopped climbing just seeming to circle over Masato for a moment seeming to shimmer in the air before dissipating into thin air signifying that the spell had done its job so Moon was able to end it. Only to nearly hit the ground as the side effects from powering the spell hit full force. One of them reached out and grabbed her before she hit the ground thankfully. "Moon!" Came a worried chorus of voices.

"I'm fine." Sailor Moon reassured them. "Just tired." It took a few minutes but she was eventually to get mostly on her own feet again, though she still found herself slightly leaning against Uranus for support. Luna hadn't been kidding when she said the spell would leave her drained. She was probably going to end up sleeping for days after she got home. Or at least close to it. Seeing the skeptical looks both girls were giving her she emphasized. "I'll be fine. Really. I just need a good night's sleep."

"Right, can't do that anymore." Masato said rubbing the back of his head drawing their attention back to him. He had just tried to teleport out forgetting for a moment that since he was now 100 percent civilian he would be able to do that. Old habits died hard. This would take some getting used to. His ticket out of unwanted situations for years had been either to teleport or to open a portal. Now he could do neither of those.

That earned a light snicker from Haruka and Moon found herself tiredly giggling as well. She got why Masato had tried to do it, old habit. It was still kind of funny to see him look momentarily confused on why it hadn't worked.

"You do have a way to get home don't you?" Moon asked mildly concerned after a moment. Masato almost certainly had a way to get around if he had built up such a civilian persona, but the question was, did he have it with him since he seemed to be used to both using civilian and Dark Kingdom modes of transport.

"Of course, I do. It's just the teleport is an old habit that I have to kick now." Masato shrugged. He kind of wondered if once more of his non-Dark Kingdom based powers if he couldn't pick up teleporting again. Something to wonder about for another time he decided. He knew very little about his abilities under the prince's guards. He was hoping as his memories started coming back he would remember that and regain those abilities.

"If you're okay we should get going. It's late and we all need some sleep." Neptune interjected. More so Moon then them at this point. Luna had been right in the fact it had left her slightly tired but Moon had definitely born the brunt of it judging by the collapse.

"Yes, though there's still the matter of getting together." Masato said frowning slightly. Best to share what Intel he had while it was still fresh and accurate.

Sailor Moon slightly snorted at that. The solution was simple though it showed the fact Masato hadn't apparently hadn't been over to Naru's house yet. "You can meet at Naru's. Luna's still residing there for at least a few more days (they still had a few things to move into the penthouse and had to double check with the landlord before moving Luna in, there shouldn't be an issue but it was a still a couple of days off from when Usagi and Luna were going to move in) and you have to explain to Naru anyway about you being a Dark Kingdom general."

Masato frowned at that, "Why would I need to tell her?" Technically the girl shouldn't even know the Dark Kingdom really existed. Luna residing with her  _did_  raise a few questions though.

"Naru knows I'm Sailor Moon. Known since day one actually. We've already talked about the fact that you and Nephrite might be the same person. I would just get it over with and tell her. She's going to be mad at first but it will probably only be worse if you keep hiding it from her." Moon pointed out. Though she doubted Naru would stay mad at him very long. She had a feeling that Naru was one of the keys behind him abandoning his Dark Kingdom post. If that was true and Naru believed him she might be angry at first but would probably forgive in time.

Masato grumbled slightly under his breath. That was a conversation he was already dreading. He guessed her already knowing about him possibly being a Dark Kingdom general simplified things a little at least. Moon spoke up after a moment. "Look, she might not take it great at first but she seems to have it hard for you. It's probably something you can work past with time, especially if you mention the fact that you partly deserted the Dark Kingdom for her." His desertion due to Naru was still a theory at this point but she had a feeling that the two were connected in some form. The look on his face after her words, however, said all she'd ever really need to know. He didn't expect anyone to pick up on it and therefore, there was something to that 'theory'. She smiled.

End Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week.
> 
> We're not quite out of the Nephrite arc yet. We still have one more chapter to go before we get fully into the Zoicite/hunt for the rainbow crystals arc. But 16 is the last of the Nephrite arc chapters.
> 
> I know some of you commented about Yuki last week. Don't worry she'll get her comeuppance eventually. I am not dropping her entirely just because Usagi's now left Juuban.
> 
> Side note 16 will actually go up unusually early for me on Friday. I have a midafternoon flight to New York to catch to see the Belmont Stakes. And since it's a quick day trip essentially (get in late Friday, leave early Sunday), I am not packing my laptop. So, 16 will be posted before I leave for the airport. I have to be at the airport about mid-morning my time (Mountain Standard Time) so expect it probably fairly early.
> 
> Short preview for 16:
> 
> "Yeah, but did he do it for me or for her? Did he actually fall for me or did he fall for some girl whose long dead?" Naru said frowning slightly. Part of her wanted to cave to her romantic side and the idea that a guy basically had left behind everything he had ever known to be with her and find his prince. On the other hand there was still the fact that he had sought her out on ulterior motives and had been working against her best friend.
> 
> "I don't think he remembers enough of that girlNaru. I think he did it for the right here in front of me right now. Naru Osaka." Usagi argued. Okay admittedly she hadn't talked to Masato that much about his past life. But from what Luna had mentioned from their own conversation he didn't have a ton to go off of. Just short flashes here and there. Enough to know there was a life before the Dark Kingdom, enough to intrigue him into leaving but not enough to put the whole story together. "Plus you can't tell me that your not the least bit interested in the fact that you might be the reincarnation of some royalty that was meant to marry Masato in the past life. I've known you too long to think otherwise." Usagi commented raising an eyebrow. If she knew Naru like she thought she did then the girl had to be enamored with the idea. And when it came down to it the idea of these two finding each other lifetimes and millenia later from when they were originally together was kind of cute. Most of the danger surrounding Nephrite had passed the moment he had become a full civilain. There was still a danger if he regained whatever abilities he had when serving his prince. But she had a feeling that they would know long before then whether or not a real relationship could work between them.
> 
> And that's it for now.
> 
> As always please remember to leave a comment or review on the way out. Just because I don't always reply to them doesn't mean I don't read each one. They really do make my day.
> 
> I'll see you on the 8th with chapter 16!


	16. The Lost Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Surprise!
> 
> I know its a day early but I have a really early flight tomorrow so rather than risk me nearly forgetting you're getting it early.
> 
> Thanks to tsukikageshi as always for betaing!
> 
> On with the chapter!

Chapter 16

The Lost Guard

It was a couple days after healing Nephrite, now simply Masato, and the beginning of the new school year was fast approaching. Usagi was still getting tired out a bit easily but was quickly improving and in the process of moving in with Haruka and Michiru as well. With that in mind, her Mom had decided to throw a party in celebration of her getting into Mugen Gaken. Well maybe less of a party and more of a gathering. Naru and the girls had been invited so it wasn't like there was going to be definetely . This was also the last time she would be in the apartment for a while. Her stuff was officially moved into Haruka and Michiru's place and she would be going back with them when they left for the night.

"I don't think either myself or your father expected us for you to be moving out so soon." Usagi's Mom confessed after a moment. They were having some quiet time before the others arrived. It wouldn't be much longer now.

"Realistically, we all kind of knew that if I was going to attend one of Mugen's specialty programs I was going to have to move out if I got accepted." Usagi pointed out frowning slightly. She guessed she could have commuted from here but it would have been a lot more difficult then doing so from Haruka and Michiru's place.

"Yes, I know. I don't know what we were thinking." Her Mom said. In hindsight it seemed obvious that Usagi would have to move out of their apartment to attend school so that the commute would be less on Usagi. However, hindsight's 20-20 and it wasn't a subject her and Kenji had put much thought into at the time when they had submitted the application to Mugen. She was glad Usagi was getting a chance at better schooling and life but that didn't change her own feelings on the matter. "It's going be odd and sad to have an empty house after all this time. And with you being Sailor Moon now…."

"Should I have said no to the offer?" Usagi asked. She wouldn't have wanted to spend another semester at Juuban but if her senshi duties were causing this much concern maybe she should have.

"No." Her mother said shaking her head after a moment. Despite all her hesitations and worries she couldn't deny one fact in the whole matter. "Mugen will be good for you and I'm glad that you will have them to support you. Just please Make sure to check up on with us daily. I can't help but worry about you no matter what. Even if you weren't Sailor Moon.." She may not fully understand the senshi situation or why her daughter needed to be involved with it, even with the explanation Luna had given them way back when she had first recruited Usagi, but the whole Haneda incident had made one thing very clear to her. What her daughter was doing was dangerous work. Necessary work from what she had been told by Luna, repeatedly, but still dangerous none the less

"I can do that." Usagi assured her. She got it with Shingo gone and her now off fighting evil on a regular basis her parents had a right to worry, but that didn't change the nature of the situation.

"Everyone coming tonight has met each other before?" Her Mom asked deciding to switch topics for the moment.

"I don't think Ms. Setsuna's ever met Naru actually. She's heard me talk about Naru multiple times but I don't think they have met." Usagi admitted. Naru and Ms. Setsuna had never a reason to cross paths before tonight. "That must be one of them." Usagi said hearing the doorbell go off.

* * *

"Hope we aren't late to the party." Haruka said as they stepped into the apartment.

"No, you are the first ones here." Usagi said as she let them in. "Do you have any idea what is it that Naru wanted to tell me?" Usagi asked fully letting them into the apartment. Naru had been tight lipped about what the surprise was but maybe that had just been around her.

"An idea, but nothing concrete. If it what I think it is you'll definitely enjoy it." Michiru assured her. She and Naru hadn't talked about Naru's own application since she had gotten her opinion on moving Usagi to Mugen Gaken but she suspected that was exactly what Naru was going to tell Usagi about tonight. "She's not here yet?"

"Naru's running a bit late." Usagi answered. Naru had texted her not long before saying she was running behind schedule slightly so she might be a bit late. Though knowing Naru she probably wouldn't be too late.

"So its just us, her, and your parents right?" Haruka asked.

"Actually…Ms. Setsuna's supposed to come too." Usagi admitted.

"Really?" Haruka asked a bit surprised. Considering how little the last senshi interacted with them she wondered how Usagi had managed to convince her to come.

"Yeah, I was able to talk her into it. Somehow." Usagi said. She had been a bit surprised she had managed to succeed in getting her to come. Setsuna seemed to be a bit adverse to social gatherings. Usagi wasn't sure why. Maybe something to tuck away and bug Setsuna with the next time she wanted to get her off of an uncomfortable topic. "I thought it would be a good chance for all of us to get together."

"Could have used her help a couple of times, at least when Masato was still Nephrite." Haruka grumbled slightly. The green haired senshi had gone completely off the radar during that time. If it hadn't been for the fact Usagi had been seeing her weekly she would have maybe wondered if something had happened to her.

"Yeah, I don't know what the story with her and fighting Masato." Usagi admitted. Considering Ms. Setsuna's domain she figured she must have a good reason for staying away but it was kind of interesting how she had gotten so directly involved with the Jaedite fight and then had backed off when it came to dealing with Masato.

"She didn't tell you either." Michiru asked a bit surprised. She had almost figured they didn't know because they didn't see the other senshi on a regular basis. But Usagi apparently didn't know and she did see her on a regular basis. Which was interesting to say the least.

"No I said before we do get together but that's because she's my doctor. She tries to keep the conversation off of senshi stuff unless I drag it in that direction." Usagi admitted. Using senshi business was her favorite way of getting off a topic she wasn't particular fond of talking about. Not that it ever lasted very long since Ms. Setsuna seemed to always know why she brought up senshi stuff during their meetings, but they had managed to get distracted with that topic a few times.

"Drag it?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow.

"I've used it a few times to get off of topics I don't like." Usagi confessed.

"For about 10 minutes, is usually how long she's gotten me off track before. It never works for very long because I'm well aware of the tactic she's trying to employ." Setsuna said officially joining the group.

"Mom let you in I'm guessing?" Usagi surmised. She had been so caught up in talking with the others she hadn't heard the doorbell ring again.

"So where were you exactly the last month?" Haruka asked apaprently deciding to get straight to the point.

"Can we not talk about senshi business for tonight?" Usagi scowled slightly cutting in before Ms. Setsuna could reply. She knew that was where the conversation was most likely going to go considering there were four of them in the room. But come on that's not what this get together was supposed to be about.

"We can try." Haruka relented finally.

Setsuna looked like she was going to say something when the doorbell went off again. Usagi nearly bolted just wanting to get away. "That must be Naru." She could hear Haruka make some comment about, how could it be complicated as she made her exit. Well at least she wasn't going to have to be physically there for that conversation. She would probably be hearing about whatever was said for the next couple of days.

* * *

"Sorry if I'm late." Naru said as she was let in.

"Nah, your right on time." Usagi assured her. Plus the timing had allowed her to get out of what she was sure was going to be a possibly awkward conversation between Haruka, Michiru, and Ms. Setsuna. "So what's the big surprise?"

"Oh right." Naru said as she handed the piece of paper over to Usagi to read. "I wanted you to be the second person to know. The only other person who knows right now is Mom."

"You got accepted to Mugen Gaken?" Usagi asked surprised and excited. It wasn't so much that she didn't love the other girls but Naru was her oldest and closest friend. And so knowing that they would be still at school together even in different classes was nice. Though…"I didn't know you applied." Usagi admitted frowning slightly as reality started to sink in after the initial excitement. Handing the letter back over. When had Naru applied? Had she been planning to leave Juuban at the end of last semester and not told her? She would like to think not but still it was a question she needed answered.

"I went in for their admission test after I found out from Michiru that she was going to get you moved off the wait list." Naru answered.

"You talked to Michiru about that?" Usagi asked genuinely surprised. She knew Michiru and Naru talked on occasion. That much was obvious from other things that had happened, like Naru pointing them in the right direction on the day of the quake, but she still was kind of surprised at times when they talked.

"She actually came to me, wanted my opinion on how you might react to her getting involved in your status on the Mugen Gaken application." Naru answered. She had actually spent the time Usagi had been at the beach house going through the application process. Among other things. She had just gotten word back a few days ago, but had been waiting for Usagi to get her own acceptance letter before springing the surprise on her. "I know the girls are good for you and they'll make sure nothing happens, but I thought you would appreciate having another familiar face in the sea of students. Also, I wanted us to stay together."

"No, I definitely appreciate it." Usagi agreed. She didn't think any Yuki would be in the crowd of students. Or at least she hoped there wouldn't be any Yuki's in the crowd. So her own relationship with her classmates should be better. But that didn't mean she didn't appreciate the additional support or being able to still see her friend at school.

"How're your parents taking you leaving?" Naru asked after a moment.

"Not easily." Usagi confessed making a face. "I think they are kind of torn on the matter."

"Yeah I can see that. Especially since the fights are just going to get harder from here on out from what Masato's said. Do we even know what happens when someone is completely drained of their energy?" Naru pondered. None of the youma that they had fought so far had completely drained someone of their energy so it was an unknown subject.

"I don't know. I never thought to ask Luna about that." Usagi admitted. That was actually a very good question. If the enemy could drain you completely what happened? Could they die from something like that? She knew, though it hadn't been really talked about, that eventually they were probably going to get into life threatening fights. Beryl had been responsible for wiping out an entire civilization, after all. There was no way going up against Beryl would be anything but extremely, life threateningly dangerous. Eventually, to protect Earth they would have to take her out. No matter how much she hated the idea of killing something, someone, that was human.

* * *

"I have no clue what to do about him." Naru admitted to Usagi a couple of days later at her house. It was the last days of spring break and the two were having one final sleepover before the school year started. Today's topic was Masato. Usagi hadn't been there when Naru had found out that he was indeed a former Dark Kingdom general but according to Luna there had been a lot of yelling and thrown pillows. "He hid a pretty big secret."

"Yeah and how well would that conversation have gone if you had been just some random civilian?" Usagi asked raising an eyebrow. "'Oh hi. I am a reincarnated guard to an Earth prince who died millenias ago and have been forced to work under a homocidal queen for God knows how long.' Can you imagine trying to wrap your head around that? Remember he didn't know you knew anything about the Dark Kingdom until I pointed it out to him." She was still on the fence about Masato being involved with Naru but the fact that he was no longer working for the Dark Kingdom helped her feel more comfortable with the idea.

Naru let out a snort at that. "Okay, that's true."

"Naru, as much as I have my reservations, he left the Dark Kingdom. He's put his life in our hands for you. That's a lot too." Usagi commented. She still had some lasting reservations just because she had been working against him for so long. She probably would have some for a long time to be honest. But she had to admit there was something to the fact that he had chosen to leave his life behind thanks to her and a prince that might not even have been reborn when you got down to it. Not everyone could do that.

"Yeah, but did he do it for me or for her? Did he actually fall for me or did he fall for some girl whose long dead?" Naru said frowning slightly. Part of her wanted to cave to her romantic side and the idea that a guy basically had left behind everything he had ever known to be with her and find his prince. On the other hand there was still the fact that he had sought her out on ulterior motives and had been working against her best friend.

"I don't think he remembers enough of that girl Naru. I think he did it for the right here in front of me right now. Naru Osaka." Usagi argued. Okay admittedly she hadn't talked to Masato that much about his past life. But from what Luna had mentioned from their own conversation he didn't have a ton to go off of. Just short flashes here and there. Enough to know there was a life before the Dark Kingdom, enough to intrigue him into leaving but not enough to put the whole story together. "Plus you can't tell me that your not the least bit interested in the fact that you might be the reincarnation of some royalty that was meant to marry Masato in the past life. I've known you too long to think otherwise." Usagi commented raising an eyebrow. If she knew Naru like she thought she did then the girl had to be enamored with the idea. And when it came down to it the idea of these two finding each other lifetimes and millenia later from when they were originally together was kind of cute. Most of the danger surrounding Nephrite had passed the moment he had become a full civilain. There was still a danger if he regained whatever abilities he had when serving his prince. But she had a feeling that they would know long before then whether or not a real relationship could work between them.

"I am a bit worried. We don't know how living with the Dark Kingdom influenced him. Plus with him being full civilian now he's no more dangerous then any other guy out there." Usagi admitted.

"I just need time I think. It's all a bit too much too soon. I wish I could remember whatever he remembers from his past life. It would make things so much easier." Naru confessed.

Usagi tapped her foot for a moment thinking. "We could ask Luna. She may have worked mainly on the Moon but there's a good chance she knows something." She sensed Naru wasn't quiet ready to talk to Masato about all the details yet and it wasn't really her place to get involved on that front. Luna, on the other hand, was her own treasure trove of information. She might be able to provide some other insight into the situation.

"It's definitely intriguing. I never really expected to run into any members of the planetary courts in this day and age outside of the Sailor Senshi." Luna admitted sitting down on the bed. Well maybe run into wasn't the best word considering she had been living with Naru for the better part of three months. Still, the idea that they had been able to find any member of the planetary courts was intriguing and she wondered if Naru wasn't the only person besides the Senshi, the Shitennou and the Princess that were running around in modern day. Something to investigate for a later time she guessed.

"Planetary courts?" Naru asked frowning slightly

"People who were close to the royal family and their advisors, friends, relatives, people like that. If you and Masato were involved during the Silver Alliance then you were definitely part of the Terran Court." Luna explained with a frown. She couldn't remember enough about the court structure of the Terrans to recall just how many lay in each court.

"She wasn't one of the heirs to the throne?" Usagi asked raising an eyebrow. She had no clue how the planetary courts worked. Or rather she didn't have enough of her own memories of the time to understand how they worked but if Naru was part of the court then she was inclined to think she must have been related to someone.

"No, there was only one child in the Terran Royal Family, Endymion, from what I remember. There were other members of the court, of course. they had a fairly large court from what I can recall. More then likely Naru's past self was someone high up in the court if she was openly involved with Nephrite." Luna said frowning slightly. Her encounters with the Terrans and their royal court had been few and far between. Most of them had been around the time Queen Serenity was trying to set up Princess Serenity and Endymion, and the Inner Court with the Shittenou before the fall of the Moon Kingdom. Her knowledge on the Terran Court was by far the most limited when it came to the time of the Silver Alliance. Since tensions had always run deep between the Moon and the Earth it seemed knowledge of Earth's ruling family had been limited at the time.

"Huh, wonder if we knew each other in our past lives." Usagi commented. That would be a wild coincidence. Her first and longest friend being tied to her own past.

"That would be a wild coincidence." Naru agreed grinning a bit.

"Actually, most likely your past lives never met. As far as I know the interactions between the Moon and Earth courts were limited to the major courts of the planets, which was essentially the heirs and their guards. Naru most likely was a member of the minor court. Important people who either were close to the royal family or were members but no in the direct lineage. Tensions at the time would have been running too deep for someone from the Terran Minor Court to have been interacting with another planetary court member major or minor." Luna explained. As crazy as it was to realize that Naru was tied to the Silver Alliance, other then probably being a reincarnated high lady who was involved with Masato, she doubted the girl's past self had much interaction with the other currently reincarnated members of the Silver Alliance.

"Something is strange about this entire situation." Luna mused after a moment. The idea Naru's past self, from what she had been able to get from Masato, was turning everything Luna thought she understood about what had lead to the fall of the Silver Alliance on its head. Particularly the Shittennou and their personal lives. She had been lead to believe that none of the members of the major courts of the Moon and Earth had been bonded prior to the fall. This showed that at least one of the members of the major courts was, most likely, bonded and that meant there was a new factor at play with the Silver Alliance's fall. She very much doubted that Naru and Masato would have been drawn to each other like they had otherwise. Naru being the trigger for his memories pointed to something too deep to really be otherwise as far as Luna knew.

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked looking over at the cat with a frown.

"I was under the impression the Shittennou had yet to bond to anyone on a soul 's troubling is that for the connection that Naru and Masato have both described to carry over a life time would mean that Naru's past self wasn't just his intended but that there very souls had..." Luna trailed off frowning slightly. Her own memories were still spotty but if that had been the case then there would have been no way to bond Nephrite to Jupiter like she remembered Queen Serenity planning. You only had one soul mate bond and once you were bonded it was for life. There was no way to really supersede the bond, at least not that Luna knew of. Queen Serenity had known that and she would have to have known about the pre existing bond so why had she been going ahead with the plan to bond the two parties?

"I don't understand the problem." Usagi admitted frowning slightly.

"Well girls. Once a soul bond is formed you can't bond with anyone else. Now you can, say, bond with multiple people though that was rare and done with all at once, not bonded to one central person but all three bonded to one another. Once the bonding ceremony is complete there is no undoing. There is also no way to form that kind of bond with another person." Luna explained.

"Okay, I'm following so far. How is this a problem with me and Masato?" Naru asked trying to understand what was troubling Luna.

"I remember Queen Serenity wanting to soul bond each of the Shittennou with one of the Inner Senshi. Kunzite to Venus, Mercury to Zoicite, Mars to Jadeite, and Nephrite to Jupiter. If you and Nephrite were already bonded at the time it would have been physically impossible to form a true soul bond between Jupiter and Nephrite. A false bond, even a familial bond would have been possible, but definitely nothing close to what Queen Serenity desired. Soul bond magic is very deep and mysterious. I don't believe even the Ginzishou would have been able to truly mess with it." Luna said tail swishing slightly in annoyance. This whole thing made little sense to her. She was starting to believe that Nephrite and Naru's past self were bonded prior to Queen Serenity trying to tie the two courts together. There were too many signs pointing to it being that, but if that was the case why had Queen Serenity made those choices Luna could recall prior to the fall? There were other ways to strengthen the bond between Earth and the Moon without bonding the heirs and their guards. Why had she been so set on that route?

"What about the bond I share with Haruka and Michiru?. Could that have been what she was aiming for?" Usagi asked.

"No, that's a completely different kind of bond. Since the Shittennou and Senshi were to be married a guardian bond that exists between you and the Senshi wouldn't have worked. Senshi bonds and mate bonds are two different things Usagi. What you have with your senshi is not the same as the one you would have had with your eventual mate." Luna said shaking her head. She understood why Usagi got the two mixed up. She was almost certain the bond cerimonies had died out after some point after the Alliance fell. Usagi would only know of bonds she shared with her senshi. If Usagi was Serenity then she had been Endymion's intended but as far as Luna knew they had never gone through the bonding ceremony so she wouldn't have a full proper soul mate bond with Endymion.

Luna sighed before continuing before the two girls stares. "I don't know nearly enough. I still don't remember most of the last months of the Moon Kingdom. Understanding and knowing exactly what Queen Serenity was planning at the time is difficult. I am fairly certain on a few things, like that her and the King and Queen of Earth thought a union between the two courts was a good way to help solidify a peace agreement and Earth's entry into the Alliance. After that everything gets a bit..."

"Could she have been desperate enough to try and mess with the soul bonds between people?" Usagi asked.

Luna frowned tail swishing slightly. "No, or at least I hope not. There are few things that one does not mess with and one is the bond between soul mates. I don't know what the consequences are but one thing I was raised on was the idea that messing with them could have catastrophic consequences. If Queen Serenity was messing with existing soul bonds, then she may have somehow sealed the very Silver Alliance's fate in the process." This was where her own faulty memory was coming back to her. She knew instinctively that messing with a soul bond could have catastrophic consequences but she couldn't remember what those consequences were. She was going to have to reach out to Artemis to see if he remembered anything.

"I mean, I kind of want to remember the place Masato's been talking about. It would be nice to know what is being talked about when the subject of the Silver Alliance comes up." Naru admitted. Getting her own memories of Elysian would mean being able to answer her own questions and maybe settle some of her doubts about a relationship with Masato. Though, she wondered if at this point if it was even possible to get memories.

"Part of the reasons why the girls can even recall their memories from their past lives is because of the Sailor Crystals they draw power from. I suspect that Masato's memories are tied to whatever it is the Shittennou get their own abilities from. When it comes down to it, I'm fairly sure you have neither of those. Thus I'm not sure what your story is or how you were reincarnated to begin with. It's possible that your own connection with Masato played a role in that. If that's the case then it maybe as he starts regaining his memories you might start remembering things about your previous life. It's also possible you may never remember. Its simply to early to do anything other then guess at this point." Luna explained. It was too difficult to say at this point. She didn't' even quiet understand how the girls were able to be reincarnated with any of their memories intact now that she thought about it. She suspected that it went back to the Sailor Crystals that the girls drew on in their transformed state. But it was almost impossible to know for sure. There in lay the problem. Too many unknowns.

* * *

It had been a bit of an argument about Usagi and Masato meeting without one of the others present. It wasn't so much that they didn't want to be there but with the beginning of the school year on fast approach they had extra curicular non Senshi stuff to deal with. So when he had asked to get together the next time the only one whose scheduled it had worked with was Luna's. That hadn't made the other two particularly happy. She had finally gotten it shut down by pointing out that now that he was a civilian he presented as much danger as just about any other run of the mill guy. He wasn't capable of producing the same energy blasts that had knocked her out at the start of break.

"Is Beryl being this quiet normal?" Luna asked. It had been strangely quiet since Masato had desserted the Dark Kingdom. One would figure losing one of her generals would have affected Beryl to an extent but she would have thought that Zoicite, the next general under Beryl, would have reared his head by now.

"No. Beryl must be scheming something." Masato said frowning slightly. He was also kind of surprised Zoicite, the last general who wasn't busy with the 'Venus problem' hadn't reared his head at this point. Sure he had his quiet moments between plots but it had been almost two weeks now. He couldn't remember the last time things had been so quiet on that front. The longest he had been idle, prior to becoming a civilian, was after the wedding shop and that hadn't really been being idle either just repurposed for other tasks and researching the Senshi and their behaviors to hopefully draw one of them out. He was actually a bit surprised that Beryl hadn't tried to send a youma after him yet. Maybe she was prioritizing resources differently? Then again it wasn't like youma were in short supply either…She had to be scheming something the question was what?

"She didn't mention any change in plans in her usual model to gathering energy?" Usagi asked a bit surprised. While Masato hadn't been Beryl's head general, that was this Kunzite she had heard about before (or at least was since who knew what his technical status was since being sent to England), he was still one of the generals. She thought if anyone would know of a change of plans it would be one of her former generals.

"Beryl left me out of quite a few plans after the modeling contest. I tried to keep a lid on the fact I was starting to regain my real memories but considering the power she has over us, its very likely that she knew." Masato said shaking his head. Beryl had come a bit closed off after the modeling contest incident. He, at first, had pushed it off as her reaction to his lack of success against the enemy. Now he was wondering if she had been intentionally withholding information fearing he was regaining his true memories. It certainly would explain how blunt she had been about the whole D Embassy incident. His basic orders had been to infiltrate the ball and retrieve the crystal so Beryl could check to see if it was the Moon Kingdom's crystal. The Senshi had thrown a kink in that plan and so all he had been able to do was describe it.

"Just how long have you been remembering the Silver Alliance anyway?" Luna asked. She hadn't thought to ask before, didn't seem pertinent but she was curious just how long the former Dark Kingdom general had been regaining his memories. Or rather, she guessed, how long it had taken for him to decide to abandon his role in the Dark Kingdom. Sure they had been fighting him for close to two months but that didn't mean, necessarily, his memories hadn't already been coming back before then.

"That started the first time I met Naru at the mall. A month and a half ago was the first time I remembered anything from before the Dark Kingdom." Masato explained. "At the time it was more of a fragment of a memory then anything, only a single image. That was the first time I had been given an inkling of a life beyond the Dark Kingdom. I forged my identity as Masato to gather information. Kunzite was unable to keep a lid on his memories and was discovered by Beryl." Masato answered. Beryl had listed off an excuse of him needing to get rid of Venus who by that point had taken off to England but he suspected the issue ran far deeper then that. If Kunzite had known Venus in the past life fairly well there was a good chance that she had started triggering his proper memories much in the same manner that Naru had accidentally triggered his. He wasn't even sure what had triggered Kunzite's memories though he was now wondering if Venus had been a factor. But that didn't make sense why allow Kunzite around the one person who seemed to be influencing his memories? He shook his head before finally continuing. "I started the company when I got bored I think. Honestly I have been running that company for so long I can't remember why I originally founded it. Especially since for a long time there Jaedite was the one in charge of gathering energy for the longest and spent the most time outside of the Dark Kingdom. The other generals and I had other tasks we had to perform under Beryl's comand. I was more in charge of gathering information. I only took on the task of gathering energy when Beryl put Jaedite into Eternal Sleep."

"Wait, Jaedite's not dead?" Usagi asked a bit surprised. Well Masato could technically mean he was dead but she had a hard time seeing him not just flat out calling it like it was. Though this raised a new concern of the possibility of Jaedite popping up again out of nowhere.

"No, but he might as well be. Eternal sleep is just as it sounds. Whoever is put under the spell will sleep until the end of time, or is supposed to anyway. He's only going to come out of it either when Beryl changes her mind or when she dies. And even then I'm not sure if that will be enough to bring him out of the sleep." Masato admitted with a frown. No one really knew how the sleep worked. He wasn't even sure Beryl completely understood how it worked.

"Huh," Usagi said storing away the information to quize Setsuna about later. She wondered when everything was said and done maybe she could heal Jaedite in the same manner she had healed Masato.

Luna frowned realizing what Usagi was probably thinking, "Usagi.. Jaedite may not want to be healed. Masato was a fairly unique case."

"Actually I am not entirely sure that last part is true." Masato admitted after a moment thinking back to Kunzite and Zoicite before the former had been shipped off to England.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Both of them had been acting a bit odd before Beryl seperated them by sending one of them overseas. At the time I dismissed it as stress and aggravation caused by having to deal with Venus on a regular basis but now that I think about it I'm wondering if being around Venus may have started triggering memories." Masato confessed.

"If Venus was the cause of it wouldn't have been keeping one of them near her made the situation worse?" Usagi asked.

"Yeah, that's the part I don't understand." Masato confessed.

"Actually…" Luna trailed off it was a shot in the dark but it was the only reason she could think of that the other generals might start regaining there memories. Especially since she was starting to doubt the memories she herself had that said Venus and Kunzite had been close in the previous life. "Were Kunzite and Zoicite involved in anyway?"

"Yeah actually I walked in on them a few times. I don't think they ever realized I knew. I left the room quickly each time." Masato's face turned a barely noticable shade of red in his embarrassment of having caught two of the generals like that.

"It's a bit of a shot in the dark but Venus is the senshi of love and she has some strange abilities that admittedly neither myself or Artemis quiet understand. It's possible her presence was enough to start arousing a dormant bond and that may have caused some of their proper memories to start coming back." Luna said after a moment. Most of the Senshi had secondary abilities that her and Artemis didn't quiet understand. But Venus's were the ones that confused her the most at times outside of Pluto's.

"Wait but wouldn't have keeping one of them around Venus risked making one of them fully regaining their memories?" Usagi asked a bit confused. Honestly the better solution would probably have been to send Kunzite and Zoicite to seperate places where Venus wasn't. But then you would have your enemy running amok with nothing to keep her from destroying whatever plans you had.

"I believed she thought it was a bigger risk to have them near each other then to have one of them near Venus. It's actually possible that he does have his full memories back. As far as I know the only person allowed contact with him since he left for England is Beryl. She forbade Zoicite from contacting him, though really, if they wanted too they probably could have found a way to contact each other without her knowing." Masato confessed.

"I would have heard from Artemis if he had decided to flip sides. He might be questioning like you were but as far as I know he still works for Beryl." Luna confessed. She really ought to reach out to Artemis and see if there was any new developments on his end after all of this.

"I think you might have broken the seal when you released me from the Dark Kingdom." Masato confessed deciding to move the subject away from Kunzite and Zoicite for now.

"Really?" Usagi asked. She hadn't really meant to do that but hey if it was a benefit to him she sure wasn't going to complain about accidentally pulling something off.

"My memories of the Old Kingdom have been coming back more and more. I'm remembering new things every day." Masato said. He still had a lot of gaps in his memory. Probably would for a long time but he was remembering more and more of life prior to the Dark Kingdom. Enough that he finally had a concrete idea on what his lost prince might actually look like.

"That's great." Usagi lit up honestly happy for him. "Do you remember enough to try and identify that prince of yours?"

"Thankfully, yes. He may resemble many in Tokyo however." Masato shrugged. Considering the size of Tokyo he might be looking for a needle in a haystack.

"So far all of the other people I have run into so far that were tied to the Silver Alliance aren't just living in Japan but in this part of Tokyo. The way the trend is going I am half expecting to find the remaining senshi at some point livng in Juuban or a neighboring prefecture. It may be a coincidence but I would start looking for your prince in Juuban first." Luna suggested. Haruka and Michiru didn't live in Juuban but they had met Usagi in Juuban so she had a feeling if Masato was going to have the best shot at finding his prince he should start where she had started, Juuban.

"What's he look like anyway?" Usagi asked. Maybe she had seen him around Juuban. A bit of a long shot but then again so had been finding the Sailor Senshi and she had managed to find Uranus and Neptune. Or maybe it was they had found her. She really wasn't sure what to call it.

"Black hair, and deep blue eyes, and slightly pale skin. If he was reborn around the same time as you and the girls then he should be in high school." Masato said. He was hoping since the Senshi had been reborn in Tokyo that meant his prince had been too. Or else he might never be able to find him. It was one man in a population of seven billion after.

Usagi chewed on her lip for a moment. It might be a coincidence…but there weren't that many dark haired blue eyed guys she knew of that lived in Juuban and dark haired brown eyed yes just due to that being common in Japan. Blue eyed was less common even in Tokyo. And the timing of which she had first met him was a bit coincidental when she started to think about it. Masato raised an eyebrow at her behavior, "Ms. Usagi if you think you know something please share."

Usagi sighed she didn't want to get the guy's hopes up but she shouldn't really hold that piece of information back either so. "It might be nothing but there's a guy who lives in Juuban that I've met before that matches your description. His name is Mamoru Chiba. I think he's out of town right now but considering the new school year is about to start he has to be coming back soon. He can be a real jerk sometimes but he could be the prince your looking for."

"Well its a place to start at least." Masato said to himself. It maybe just a coincidence, I mean he couldn't be that lucky he would find Endymion's present self that quickly could he? It was a lead at least. "Protector of Earth huh." Masato said to himself. If this guy wasn't Endymion then the naming coincidence was a bit wild.

"Huh?" Usagi said blinking a few times wondering where that had come from.

"His name. It may be a wild coincidence but after everything that's happened I have my doubts." Masato explained.

"Oh. I hadn't thought about that. It would be a really wierd coincidence." Usagi agreed. What were the odds that someone with that name's meaning wasn't a former prince? Heck her name meant rabbit of the moon, though she only knew that because it had been brought up multiple times. While it sure wasn't as regal as Protector of Earth it did draw back to her own connections to the Moon back in the day apparently. "Actually now that I think about it he's been around a few times when youma plots have happened. I didn't think much of it at the time since I had other things on my mind. A random guy who doesn't look like one of the generals that serve Beryl didn't seem important then. Now I wonder if he was drawn to those places because of his connection with you and the other Shittennou." Usagi admitted. It was a bit of a stretch but it would explain why he had shown up when he had a few times.

"Definitely need to look into him." Masato agreed. It was too good of a lead to pass up.

"Does Naru's Mom even know you two are involved yet?" Usagi asked moving away from the lost prince. It was something that had been bugging her for a while though maybe involved isn't the right word considering they were on break until Naru sorted out how to proceed from what she had heard.

"No. Naru and I both agree that we shouldn't tell her until we make an official decision on how to proceed." Masato said. He was fairly certain they wouldn't be on break for much longer but Naru needed her space to sort out all the confusion he had caused. He was giving her just that.

"Luna thinks you two were bonded in the previous life." Usagi admitted.

Masato shot a surprised look at the cat. He hadn't really thought about it before now but it did make sense. Why else would what appeared to be a normal girl have this effect on him? If it had been Endymion he could understand why his memories were starting to come back but he hadn't even met the boy yet. Luna let out a sigh. "It's what makes the most sense but if that's the case there's a lot of things from the Old Kingdom that no longer make sense. I am not sure if I'm ready to head down the path of what that could mean."

"None of it makes any sense. All of its still very muddled but from what I can tell I was very much in love with her during the Old Kingdom. Between her and the prince I served. I can't understand why I would willingly join Beryl." Masato said slightly exasperated running a hand through his hair. It made no sense. From what he could remember of the Old Kingdom, he and the others had been happy. Maybe a bit bored at times but happy. Why would they have given that up to serve an evil witch?

Luna tappped her paw for a moment thinking, "Without more information this is all just speculation."

"What do you mean?" Masato asked frowning slightly. Usagi kept quiet figuring that it probably had to deal with the conversation her and Naru had had with Luna.

Luna shook her head. "I'm sorry I really don't feel uncomfortable discussing this any further until I am able to obtain more information on the subject. At this point I very well could end up throwing false accusations around." The more she thought about it the more she was really beginning to suspect that Queen Serenity had been messing around with things she shouldn't have and it might have been a contributing factor to the fall to the Moon Kingdom. At this point all Luna had was a theory and little evidence to back it up. She was hoping with time and as everyone started coming into their powers they would get an answer. For now though best to drop the subject.

"Fair enough." Masato agreed after a moment. Before deciding to change the subject addressing Usagi. "Going back to Naru. Meeting the parents is a conversation I'm already dreading as is. The age gap, for one, is going to make things difficult."

Japanese culture. It's not as big a thing as it is here. In fact, families who still practice arranged marriages in japan often do so with marrying the females in the arrangement off to older men. That being said, not everyone agrees with it but it's not the sensitive topic it can be here.

"Just be glad your not going to have that conversation with my Dad." Usagi quipped. Her Dad would have had a fit if she was in the situation Naru was in. As it was, he nearly had one the day he found out about her becoming Sailor Moon. She still didn't know how Luna had managed to make both of them to agree too such a dangerous task. Usagi knew how she had gotten her Mom to originally agree, tell her Naru was in danger, but she hadn't been privy to most of the conversation between Luna and her parents about why she was needed as Sailor Moon.

"I think that particular conversation is one I'm dreading." Masato admitted. Naru hadn't talked much about her parents the times they had gotten together. From what he had seen with parents and being over protective he could see the first meeting maybe not going well. Maybe he should introduce himself as a friend of Naru's before they officially announce themselves as going steady? A way to warm him up to the parents at least.

"Guess she didn't mention it to you yet but Naru's Dad actually passed away a few years ago from an illness." Usagi admitted. Might as well mention it now before he accidentally said something to Naru or her mother and hurt them.

"No she didn't. Thank you for that piece of information." Masato said making a face. Well at least now he understood why Naru sometimes avoided talking about her parents.

"Look. Worry about her Mom later. For now I would be more concerned about working out the problems you caused while working for the Dark Kingdom." Usagi suggested. Really, how Naru's Mom would react should be the least of his concerns at the moment.

End Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's wrap for this week. And with it the wrap of the Nephrite arc! Next time the hunt for the rainbow crystals kicks into full gear. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled Fridays on the 21st. So for now enjoy a short preview:
> 
> Usagi marched up to the small group standing next to the petite girl with singular purpose. She wasn't exactly sure what had possessed her to get involved. She hated bullies but she hadn't had the best run sticking up to bullies in the past when she had gotten involved. But for some reason she really couldn't stand seeing this girl being picked on.
> 
> "Oh, so the freak is now going to get help from Miss Legless." One of the girls sneered.
> 
> "Real original." Usagi noted sarcastically. It was never nice to be called names but this was pretty tame compared to some of the things Yuki used to call her.
> 
> The other girl opened her mouth to make another comment before shutting it with a click. Before taking her friend and leaving them, Usagi frowned slightly at that wondering what had caused her to change her mind and leave. Something to ponder on another time she guessed.
> 
> "You shouldn't have stepped in." The petite girl said after a moment. The unsaid understanding that they would probably start going after her now left unsaid but understood nevertheless.
> 
> "Then I guess we'll be in it together." Usagi said playing down the whole thing with a smile. Knowing most likely the girl was saying something because she didn't want anyone else getting dragged into the mess. She was pretty sure of the fact, regardless of who she hung out or didn't she would probably eventually have to deal with cruel kids, even here. At least here she had more protection then she had at Juuban. Besides, after everything she had been through she couldn't stand by and watch someone else go through it. "Here let me help." Usagi said getting down to help her pick up some of the things that had gotten scattered.
> 
> And thats it for now. As always if you have a question feel free to drop me a review. Or if you don't please drop a review anyway. They make my day! See everyone on the 21st!


	17. To Peek Into Pandora’s Box

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone nothing new to report. This kicks off the whole Rainbow Crystal arc and things are going to only change more from the original storyline from here. So strap in folks.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> Enjoying the chapter!

Chapter 17

To Peek Into Pandora’s Box

Usagi had been at Mugen Gaken for about a week at this point. Settling in had gone surprisingly well. She had gotten a few stares the first day or two but after that most people hadn't paid her much mind. Her new classmates were nice, for the most part, though she tended to keep to Haruka, Michiru, and Naru during lunch. It was during one of those lunch breaks that she had first spotted her. A petite girl was being picked on by a couple of girls who couldn't be much older than her. At first glance she couldn't figure out why, as the girl appeared perfectly normal. Then again Yuki has never needed an excuse to pick on her either.

Usagi marched up to the small group standing next to the petite girl with singular purpose. She wasn't exactly sure what had possessed her to get involved. She hated bullies but she hadn't had the best run sticking up to bullies in the past when she had gotten involved. But for some reason she _really_ couldn't see this girl being picked on.

"Oh, so the freak is now going to get help from Miss Legless." One of the girls sneered.

"Real original." Usagi noted sarcastically. It was never nice to be called names but this was pretty tame compared to some of the things Yuki used to call her.

The other girl opened her mouth to make another comment before shutting it with a click. Before taking her by Usagi frowned slightly at that wondering what had caused her to change her mind and leave.

"You shouldn't have stepped in." The petite girl said after a moment. The unsaid understanding that they would probably start going after her now left unsaid but understood nevertheless.

"Then I guess we'll be in it together." Usagi said playing down the whole thing with a smile. Knowing most likely the girl was saying something because she didn't want anyone else getting dragged into the mess. She was pretty sure of the fact, regardless of who she hung out or didn't she would probably eventually have to deal with cruel kids, even here. At least here she had more protection then she had at Juuban. Besides, after everything she had been through she couldn't stand by and watch someone else go through it. "Here let me help." Usagi said getting down to help her pick up some of the things that had gotten scattered.

"I haven't seen you around before." The girl frowned putting away items as Usagi handed them over. Between the hair and the legs she would remember someone like this at Mugen Gaken. Then again it was just the start of the semester.

"I just transferred." Usagi explained ignoring some of the comments in the background. Really new people at the beginning of the year shouldn't be that odd, but then again this was one of those elevator schools where once people started they usually didn't leave.

"So you wouldn't have heard the stories then." Hotaru said. Her tone sounded off. Like a cross between disappointed and relieved.

"Stories?"-Usagi shook her head while the girl was quiet as the night with a youma on the prowl. The stories didn't matter. She continued.-"I've learned that it's best to judge other people with your own eyes and not by what others say." Usagi smiled at the smaller girl, extending a hand to help her get up.

The girl hesitated for a brief second before taking the offered hand and getting up. "Thank you."

"I'm Usagi Tsukino. What's your name?" Usagi said as it looked like the girl was about to walk away.

That got her a slight smile from the younger girl. "Hotaru Tomoe."

* * *

That evening had found Usagi, Haruka, and Michiru talking about her meeting Hotaru. They had apparently been watching the exchange from a distance. The conversation had been going well up until the point Michiru had made a comment about Hotaru. And it had all gone downhill rather quickly.

"Usagi, you do realize that might dissuade some of your classmates from possibly befriending you." Michiru warned. She wouldn't stop Usagi if she really wanted to be friends with Hotaru but she should at least be warned.

Usagi seemed to freeze at that. The way that was phrased, was too familiar and to hurtful. It hit way too close to home, so she bolted. "Usagi!" She heard the others calling behind her feeling the sting of tears on her cheeks. She had other things to do for the moment. She needed out. She needed out now.

* * *

Luna had hesitated between leaving the living room or staying. Part of her wanted a better explanation behind what Michiru had said. But for now, she was more concerned with why Usagi had reacted to Michiru's comment in that way.

Luna frowned noting that Usagi was clearly upset though now she was wondering exactly why. Had she really wanted that much to become friends with Hotaru

"I'm fine Luna." Usagi said dismissively waving at the cat even as she finished packing an overnight bag. She needed to get out of the apartment for a couple of days.

"Your clearly upset otherwise I might believe you." Luna scowled slightly. A short silence passed between them as she followed Usagi out of her bedroom and towards the front door. "Usagi. Please talk this out with them. I'm sure it is just a misunderstanding."

Usagi paused in the entryway for a moment one shoe halfway on. "If you know what's good for you, you'll avoid her." It was so soft Luna almost didn't catch it. Shaking her head after a moment trying to forget the sentence she had heard over and over at Juuban. "I just need a few days. I'm going to Naru's if she'll have me. If something comes up with the Dark Kingdom you know where to reach me." Usagi said.

Luna frowned watching the girl leave wondering where she had heard that. When had someone said something like that to Usagi? Could it have been from this "fabled" Yuki? If so, suddenly Usagi's reaction to Michiru's made more sense. Luna sighed, this was like the whole wedding shop incident all over again.

* * *

"She's going to Naru's place for a couple of days." Luna said reentering the living room. "Your comment seemed to hit a little too close to home Michiru."

"Honestly, I'm surprised by how strongly she reacted to something involving someone she's known for less then a day." Haruka commented frowning slightly.

"I think there's a bit more to it than just the comment being made about this Hotaru girl. What were you thinking anyway?" Luna asked frowning.

"We weren't opposed to her becoming friends with Hotaru. Just concerned about the bullies that Hotaru targeting her by association." Michiru explained.

"Honestly, she could use some friends." Haruka added. Though whether she was talking about Usagi, Hotaru, or both was unclear. "Did she explain why Michiru's comment upset her?"

"Not sure explain is the right word." Luna admitted tail swishing slightly before deciding to share what she had heard Usagi say. " _If you know what's good for you, you'll avoid her_." Luna quoted from memory. "That's what Usagi said right before she left."

"Oh." Haruka said more to herself then to Luna. No wonder Usagi had reacted that way.

Michiru closed her eyes for a moment looking for all intents and purposes like a wash of ice cold water had been dumped on her. Well, that explained Usagi's reaction. She had inveterately caused Usagi to remember her time at Juuban. Even if that hadn't been her intent, she couldn't entirely blame the girl for reacting the way she had Michiru let out a sigh. "Well that explains her reaction at least."

Luna frowned glancing between the two. "Why did you say that anyway?"

"As said, we're concerned about Hotaru's bullies turning on her." Haruka explained.

"And the other part?" Luna asked raising an eyebrow. She had a sense there was something they were both leaving out.

"It's a bit more complicated." Michiru admitted exchanging a glance with Haruka. "We tend to get an odd feeling around her. It's stronger when she makes strange things happen." Michiru admitted.

"Odd?" Luna noted now frowning in thought. Deciding to bypass the strange things for the moment.

"On top of that, we've seen things levitate. We'd wondered if she was a psychic but..." Haruka elaborated.

"She gives off a vibe similar to what I felt from Haruka before she awoke as Uranus. So she might be a Senshi. Though neither of us really displayed anything quite like she has before we awoke." Michiru explained to Luna.

Haruka noted the look on Luna's face. "You have an idea what's going on here?"

Luna hesitated for a moment before speaking. "It's just a hunch at the moment I'm afraid but I suspect you have found Sailor Saturn." Luna explained. Michiru frowned from her place next to Haruka, arms crossed, clearly expecting Luna to continue. Haruka looked at Luna, speaking what her partner had not. "Explain."

"Saturn was often known as the soldier of ruin because of her power. The opposite to the Queen's power in a sense. There were a few times the mantle was taken up in war times but usually the situation was fairly serious." Luna explained. For the most part Saturns were kept in a slumber during their time serving. So the list of Saturns who saw action before retiring to take on royal duties was fairly limited. "It would explain your unease at the very least since Sailor Saturn is often feared and while I would like to say otherwise, is often treated unfairly. I think her presence signifies a far greater danger that she is needed to assist with." Luna stated. Usagi took a deep breath trying to relax some but the new relevation was a bit unnerving.

"So is she safe?" Michiru asked frowning.

Luna shook her head. "The same would be asked of all of you. If she's showing displays of power, there's very good chance she will be joining us shortly." Luna sighed.

* * *

She didn't want to go back to her parents place. Too many questions. Plus she doubted her father would take the whole argument very well. So she had found herself back at Osa-P.

"Usagi?" Naru asked opening the door. This was unexpected and not in a good way judging by the bag she was carrying. Usagi had only been with the older girls for two weeks what could they have done that quickly to upset her?

"I'm sorry but I can stay over for a few nights?" Usagi sniffed a few times.

"Of course." Naru agreed looking at her in concern. What had happened after school to make Usagi this upset?

* * *

Of course Usagi had refused to speak about it when they got up in the morning. So, when lunch had rolled around she had gone seeking out the only other two people who could maybe provide an explanation, Haruka and Michiru.

"There was a conversation last night that didn't quite go well." Haruka said glancing over at Michiru. She had been taking the whole thing harder because she was the one that had made the comment that had made Usagi leave.

"I'll say she showed up at my place pretty late." Naru pointed out. Well it hadn't been excessively late. Especially considering the hours the Senshi had to regularly keep but it still was later then normal.

"Hotaru tends to attract a lot of bullies in her class." Michiru began. "We weren't objecting to her becoming friends with Hotaru, but considering everything I _thought_ a warning was needed so she knew what she was getting into. I didn't realize she used to have others say the same thing about her. If I had we might not have said anything or at least worded it a lot differently."

"You were concerned about her bullies turning on Usagi." Naru realized coming to the conclusion that Usagi had missed the prior night. Naru felt sympathy for the older woman. They would have had no way of knowing the conclusion Usagi would jump to remembering Yuki's behavior. If they wanted to avoid a repeat of the situation they had to be told.

"It's not the only reason but it was the primary one." Haruka agreed.

That caused Naru's eyebrows to shoot up. "Really?"

"Luna thinks its because she's one of us." Michiru explained moving the henshin bracelet so it was in clear view and Naru would catch what she wasn't saying. "Apparently her title back in the day was a source of unease and surrounded in mystery. So, she thinks our Senshi halves are partly causing the uneasiness."

"Aw." Naru said in realization. "So you two were just trying to protect her and it backfired." She thought for a moment before continuing. "I'll try talking to her about this and seeing if I can't get her to realize what you actually meant." Naru offered helpfully.

* * *

"How are you doing?" Luna asked that afternoon. Naru had let her in through the window once they had returned from class.

"Better." Usagi admitted. "I'll come back in a few days. I just need a bit."

"Did they use to say that at Juuban?" Luna asked. She was almost afraid to ask but she really felt like she needed to know.

"All the time." Naru confirmed reentering the room and tossing a sandwich at Usagi. "Michiru might not have said something that was verbatim but it was pretty close to some of the stuff passed around at Juuban."

"Naru!" Usagi protested realizing she had gone and asked about it behind her back.

"What, its not like you were going to tell me yourself." Naru pointed out. After a moment she said a bit more softly. "You know she's not like them. They just want you to be careful of the bullies and be aware of what to expect. They don't want to stop you from being friends with her." She decided to leave the possibility of her being another Senshi out for now. Luna might bring it up anyway.

"I survived worse than a few mean comments." Usagi grumbled to herself.

Naru let out a sigh. "I know you have but they don't know how bad things got."

Usagi sagged in defeat. "I know..."

"I think its time we told them." Naru said after a moment. Seeing Usagi seem to tense up. "I know you hate talking about it but this isn't the first time you've gone conclusion jumping involving them because of something Yuki said or did. They can't help or avoid accidentally doing something that reminds you of her if they had no clue what she did."

"Your right but..." Usagi realized hesitating for a moment more. "Fine, but I want to wait until next week." Usagi said finally caving a bit. That might be a bit excessive but she wasn't going to budge on it.

"Why next week?" Luna asked frowning slightly.

"I need time." Usagi said. Talking about Yuki with anyone was difficult. She couldn't just do it out of the blue. Not really anyway.

"What did she say anyway?" Luna asked tilting her head slightly.

"Yuki?" Usagi clarified. Luna nodded. "There was a lot of stuff said but then part of me was back at Juuban watching the new kid of the week get pulled over and told not to talk to the legless freak." Usagi let out a bit of a sniff at that. "I want to get to know Hotaru. She seems nice and it hurts to know this is happening to her like it did to me."

"That's fair." Luna agreed with some reluctance. If this was Saturn then there was even more reason for Usagi to be drawn to her besides some of the parallels between the two. Luna sighed before seeming to decide changing the subject necessary. "For the moment we have bigger concerns. Masato confirmed they targeting the Rainbow Crystals. If the Dark Kingdom gets a hold of all seven of them it would be a disaster. Each of those gems is a piece of the silver Crystal." Luna said pacing back and forth.

"Wait, if we knew that the crystal had split up why did we go chasing after the D Kingdom's treasure?" Usagi asked.

Luna looked repentant. "I did not remember the crystal had split up when the Dark Kingdom was sealed. I am still regaining my memories."

"So how do you acquire the gems?" Naru asked.

"In theory, if Usagi's compact is used against a human holding a Rainbow Crystal it will heal them, not only of the Dark Kingdom's influence but separate the gem from them harmlessly. However, the compact has never been used for this kind of task before so I can't say that with certainty." Luna said after a moment of thought.

"I'm still not sure why I can't use the Stardust attack I used against the brainwashed people at the chinchillas shop." Usagi frowned looking at the compact again. That seemed a lot less difficult too use and a lot less dangerous. Sure she was getting better at using the compact but it still made her a standing target.

A sigh. "The Stardust attack simply isn't powerful enough. It will work on low level brainwashing so if we needed too we could fall back on it again but for this kind of healing you need that compact." Luna explained.

"So all you do have to do is find these seven people?" Naru asked. That was going to be easier said then done. There were several million people living in Tokyo. Finding these seven could be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

"Is there anyway to possibly know who these people are?" Naru asking frowning slightly in thought.

"Not really." Luna said. "Queen Serenity used the Ginzishou to seal some of the Dark Kingdom's strongest warrirors into the Rainbow Crystals. We will have to be careful on how we proceed once we do start encountering them."

"I think finding a normal youma would be easier than this." Usagi pointed out frowning. With youmas in general there was usually something to indicate what was coming. But if these people looked, talked, and just in general acted like normal people it might be near impossible to get the upper hand on the enemy in this particular subject matter.

* * *

Regardless of what was going on between her and the others and the concern about the Rainbow Crystals there were other things on Usagi's mind as it was a busy week. Today was the first day on the program and Usagi was a bit nervous to say the least. She glanced around the waiting room, nothing too fancy really. She had signed in and been told that the other program participant she had been assigned to would be out shortly to take her back. She was brought out of her thoughts by someone calling. "Tsukino Usagi."

She looked up to see a girl with icy blue hair standing in the doorway. Guess that was the student in question. "That would be me."

"Yui Bidoul." The girl said extending a hand to shake. "I'm the student from the medical branch that got assigned to you."

"Nice to meet you." Usagi said shaking her hand. Before following her on to the backside. They passed one of the therapy rooms she remembered seeing when she was first getting used to her own prosthetics. She saw a few other pairs completing various tasks. Someone using a pair of beams to try and get used to balance themselves. Another person who was obviously further along in using theirs was using one of the treadmills. Turning a corner Usagi lost sight of them before following Yui into an office.

"Thought it was best to talk here the first time then out in the open." Yui explained closing the door behind them. Gesturing for Usagi to take a seat in a nearby chair..

"Do you want me to take them off?" Usagi asked as she got settled.

"Not yet. I will ask you to do so before you leave today so I can get a better look at them so I know where we're starting from and what to try for your new test prosthetics. I'm guessing these are fairly basic ones you own?" Yui asked.

"Insurance would only cover so much and with all the other expenses at the time we couldn't afford to pay more." Usagi admitted feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Nothing to be ashamed of. More people then not have more basic prosthetics when they first arrived her." Yui said. "How much do you remember how of this is going to work?"

"I know it was explained to me at the time but after everything I was kind of in a daze." Usagi admitted scratching her cheek slightly. She remembered the important basics. Like her participation in the program was covering her school fees. And that she was going to be testing out some newer models of prostethics while working with another student from the medical branch who was helping make these. There would be a doctor on site. That was what she recalled off the top of her head.

"That makes sense. It's a lot of information to absorb at first. Plus I'm guessing your initial visit was probably fairly recently after the trauma?" Yui asked.

"Actually it was almost six months after. I was in the hospital for a while, in a coma, and then it took a bit to get released. I was still adjusting." Usagi admitted.

"Still fairly recent to the trauma though in the scheme of things. Anyway today's more paperwork and seeing what prosthetics might be best for you to trial. Not everyone trials the same types. Once that's done you'll be assigned to a new prototype probably next week. But at first its going to be similar to when you first started using your current ones. Learning how they move and how you move with them. So it will be a couple of months before you are allowed to wear them home. Usually its one prototype per year unless you adjust quickly or go wear through it abnormally fast. The time period is more to trial different things and see how they perform. You do get to keep them at the end of the trial period if you wish." Yui explained rambling off what she remembered.

"So just paperwork today?" Usagi asked shoulders saging slightly. She guessed she had gotten a bit ahead of herself in hoping she might be already starting to look at new prosthetics. She was tired of having to lug a constant reminder of Yuki around.

"Among other things. Today is more about getting you settled in and familiarizing you with the clinic and the process. You won't start your first trial until the next visit." Yui confirmed. Usagi sagged a bit disappointed she had hoped this would get started sooner then later. It made sense when she thought about it though. "Don't look too disappointed. Before you know it you'll be walking around at home with the new trial."

* * *

"Hey your the girl." Usagi said finally placing the brunette that had just finished up a round on the Sailor V Arcade game. It was the weekend and since the Dark Kingdom hadn't reared its head yet since losing Masato she and Naru had decided to hit up the local arcade. Naru had gotten sidetracked talking to Motoki and Usagi had spotted a familiar looking pair of green eyes on a certain familiar brunette from almost two months ago. It was the girl that she had helped wrestle Motoki off of during the 'night of the walking fiances' as she and Naru jokingly referred to it as now.

"Glad to see you got home okay." Came the reply. Now that she wasn't hyped up on adrenaline and other senshi stuff she could get a real good look at her. She wasn't quiet as tall as Haruka but she was definitely on the tall side for someone in Japan. Something felt oddly familiar about her though she couldn't put her finger on exactly what.

"Same to you. That night was crazy." Usagi said with a slight smile. It really had been, there hadn't been a plot quiet like that before or after. Mainly because Masato had decided to switch tactics at that point. Even still, the craziness that night of the bridal shop incident wasn't entirely Dark Kingdom related.

"Makoto Kino." The beautiful brunette said offering a hand.

"Usagi Tsukino." She, herself, said taking it with a smile.

"So do you live around here? I mentioned it when we met but that night was so crazy you might not remember. I just transferred to Juuban and am trying to get my bearings. You seemed familiar with the area first time we met but I haven't seen you much since." Makoto explained.

"I used to live about 15 minutes away with my parents. I transferred out of Juuban to Mugen Gaken out in the Triangle so I had to move closer to the school." Usagi explained. She felt kind of bad that she couldn't assist her more, they had just missed each other by the sounds of it.

Makoto let out a low whistle. "Congrats! I heard that place is really hard to get into."

"It is. A good friend helped me out." Usagi said rubbing her arm slightly. The whole Michiru got her into Mugen Gaken was still a topic she was embarrassed to talk about. The less she thought about it the better. She didn't regret accepting it and getting away from Juuban and Yuki but she still didn't like talking about the how part as much.

"Must be a really good friend." Makoto said with another slight whistle.

"Yeah, she is." Usagi said with a slight smile. Michiru was a kind person, in hindsight she wasn't sure why she had herself think otherwise. Stupid Juuban. Stupider Yuki. Michiru was not like Yuki. Her eyes softened, unbeknownst to herself.

"Wish I had someone like that." Makoto said wistfully after a moment. "Juuban's admin is such a pain in the neck at times I wonder how people can go there for 3 years."

"Yeah the admin's definitely a problem at Juuban." Usagi muttered. Makoto definitely had her sympathies there.

"You don't seem like the type to get in trouble at school." Makoto said sounding a bit surprised by her comment.

"I'm not. It's just there was a lot of stuff going on that tied back to me being a transfer student and that caused a lot of issues with not just the admins but my teacher at the time." Usagi admitted. Part of it was because of her old issue with doctors but it always seemed like it was more trouble then it should have been with them. She decided to sidestep the whole Yuki issue for now.

"Didn't know you were a transfer." Makoto said raising an eyebrow.

"Umhm. I'm originally from a couple hours north of here by the bullet train. After the quake Dad got a new job here in Tokyo and we moved down. A lot of it stems back to that." Usagi admitted sidestepping most of the issues that had come with why they had moved. "What about you, how did you end up transferring to Juuban?"

Makoto grumbled slightly under her breath at the question. Usagi raised her hands defensively. "Hey, if you don't want to talk about it-"

"No, its fine I got pinned with blame for a couple of fights and since the whole incident involved families with more power then me I'm the one that got forced to transfer." Makoto admitted. Well wasn't that something she had way too much experience in. At least she had never been expelled though.

"Did you not actually get in fights at your old school?" Usagi asked kind of curious. She didn't really look like the type but then again she hadn't known the other girl very long either.

"No. They were definitely fights it just didn't go down like that school's admin liked to make it out to be. Got bullied when I was younger because I lost my parents. I don't handle bullies very well." Makoto admitted. "It's frustrating at Juuban because everyone's afraid I am going to beat them up."

"Oh I'm so sorry about your parents." Usagi said apologetically.

"I don't need pity." Usagi heard Makoto grumble. She could kind of understand that. She had heard that said over Shingo and then over her own status in the early days of recovery that she had pretty much stopped letting people see her that weren't her parents for a while. Once they had been transferred to Tokyo it had gotten better but man had it been bad at first.

"No pity, just sympathy. I lost my little brother two years back." Usagi explained.

Makoto seemed to soften a bit at that. "Sorry it's just when I usually bring up that I'm an orphan I'm met with pity. I'm just tired of it at this point."

"I understand." Usagi hesitated for a moment chewing on her lip. Was she comfortable showing someone this? She didn't know Makoto that well considering they had only met twice. But there was something oddly comfortably familiar about her. And considering she had her own losses she shouldn't react horribly….before shaking her head. She was getting more comfortable with the idea but she still wasn't quite to the point that she felt comfortable talking to someone else about her issues. Though there was a chance if Mako ran into Yuki she would find out anyway. "I got quite a bit of it when I first moved here. It died down after a while. After the surprise wore off people started distancing themselves from me, especially after an incident in my class." Once Yuki has made her her Target no one besides Naru and Umino had wanted to associate with her.

"I can imagine, especially knowing some of the girls in my class." Makoto muttered to herself more then to Usagi.

"Yuki giving you problems?" Usagi guessed. They were in the same grade level so it was entirely possible that Makoto had ended up being in what used to be her class. Though hopefully Makoto wasn't having to deal with it on nearly the same scale she had back when. Taking Makoto's surprised look as confirmation she elaborated. "I would say don't mind her but I'm probably not the best person to take advice from on that. She put me through the wringer."

"Bitch." Makoto harumphed angrily.

"She pretended to be my friend when I transferred. It didn't last." Usagi explained seeing the look on Mako's face. "I thought I had more friends than Naru and Umino. Apparently not."

"She's a real piece of work." Makoto commented making a face and gripping the game console she'd stopped playing to talk to Usagi.

"Don't I know it. Anyways after Yuki dropped me most of my classmates wouldn't talk to me. The one friend I did have at Juuban transferred to Mugen Gaken with me." Usagi admitted. She wished she could point her in the direction of some more friendly classmates.

"Well there goes any hope of finding someone who might not care." Makoto said letting out a breath.

"I'm sorry." Usagi said. She understood the other girl's frustration at the situation. Before perking up in thought. "Actually there is one guy that would be a good friend. Umino. He's a bit of a nerd but he's a genuine sweetheart and the only one at Juuban outside of Naru I felt I could trust during my time there."

"I would say more then a bit." Makoto noted.

"You've run into him I take it?" Usagi asked.

"A few times in passing. I'll keep him in mind though. He really doesn't follow the crowd's lead?" Makoto asked.

Usagi shook her head fondly. "No. If he had I never would have probably known him. I probably only know half of my old classmates names." And certainly none of them close enough to call friends.

"She really didn't like you did she?" Makoto asked.

Usagi shook her head. "No she really didn't."

* * *

A day or so later saw Usagi venturing into the topic of Senshi stuff when seeing Sestuna. Luna had made a comment about the Ginzishou and its abilities that had left her wondering what would exactly happen when the crystal finally came together. Usagi really didn't feel like talking to Luna about it so she turned to the next best option, Sestuna. Usually they stayed away from Senshi topics since she was with Sestuna to help more with the recovery from the Tohoku quake. But considering this kind of overlapped into both areas it probably was okay to ask.

"Both actually. It's about a comment Luna made a while back. She said getting the Ginzishou restored would restore our memories. I guess I'm wondering if that just applies to just the memories involving the Moon or that might be broader." Usagi confessed kind of hedging around the topic of what she was really asking, in response to Setsuna's inquiry. If the Ginzishou restored her Moon Kingdom memories would it also restore her memories fully of the day the quake struck.

Thankfully Sestuna seemed to catch where she was heading with it. "You wondering if restoring the Ginzishou will restore the memories you lost the day of the quake?" Usagi nodded her head in confirmation. "Do you want to remember?" Sestuna asked after a moment. The way Usagi had phrased that question sounded like a no but it still was best to ask.

Usagi chewed on her lip slightly thinking for a moment. Even after all this time she wasn't sure about if she wanted those memories or not. "I don't know. Part of me wants to know to end the mystery on how I'm here alive when Shingo died. Another part of me isn't certain that it wants to remember just because it can't be exactly a pleasant memory. So I'm not sure."

"It's understandable considering it was a traumatic day for everyone involved. As far as the Ginzishou restoring all of the memories and not just the Moon Kingdom ones. It's hard to say until the crystal awakens again. However, I am inclined to think no it won't restore those memories in addition. It was tied to the Moon Kingdom not the Earth and was dormant at the time the Tohoku quake struck. The Tohoku quake was a natural event, if it had somehow had Dark Kingdom ties it might be possible but even then, I would be surprised." Well mostly dormant Sestuna silently amended. There was no way to know with hundred percent certainty but she was fairly sure the crystal had been a factor in Usagi's survival of the quake. "As it is, the crystal most likely can't due to the event and the crystal being of two different natures."

"I guess part of me still wants to know that there was really nothing I could have done differently to save him." Usagi admitted after a moment. That really was the only reason why she would want her memories back to know for sure there was nothing she could have done to save her little brother.

"Usagi you were 12 at the time. There was nothing you could have done given the circumstances." Sestuna gently reminded her. They had been working on Usagi's survivor guilt and it had gotten better. Every once and a while it still reared its head, especially when discussing the day the Tohoku quake struck. Like now.

Truth be told if things had happened just right Usagi may have been capable of bringing the crystal out and using it on sheer will power alone even with it still technically being in a slumbering status as far as memories and abilities went. It was very doubtful it would have changed anything at all other than causing the crystal to surface two years earlier then intended. The only way things could have turned out differently may have resulted in Usagi dying from crystal over use instead of Shingo. Untrained as she was there was almost no way Usagi could have saved Shingo even if she had been able to tap into the crystal. Not that she was going to tell her that.

"I know. I wish he could have lived. It should have been me." Usagi said toying with a piece of fabric. It was a conversation she had had with a lot of different people it felt like about her inability to save Shingo from the quake, though she didn't make that admission to everyone. While she was getting better at accepting that it had happened at times, she still wanted to scream out with all her heart that this was wrong and shouldn't have happened. He should still be here. She should still have her legs. She'd give up her arms too if it meant he'd still be here, her arms, her life, anything to hear her little brother's teasing even just one more time. It was especially hard to swallow since she had woken as Sailor Moon. Why couldn't she save her own brother if she had the ability to protect Tokyo from alien monsters?

"How's settling into Mugen Gaken going?" Setsuna asked once she had calmed down again.

"It's going okay…" Usagi trailed off a bit reluctantly.

Setsuna sighed to herself. Usagi couldn't catch a break could she? "What happened this time?"

"I'm kind of avoiding the other girls." Usagi admitted with some reluctance not making eye contact with Setsuna.

Setsuna had expected this might happen again eventually. But she had been hoping it would be a while before it happened again. "What happened this time?"

"There's this smaller girl a couple of years younger than us named Hotaru. Michiru made a comment about how me befriending Hotaru might dissuade others from becoming friends with me. All I could think of was 'Don't hang out with the legless freak she'll bring bad luck on your entire family.' 'Did ya hear? That's the freak who couldn't save her brother, don't go near or else maybe you'll lose someone too.' 'If ya know whats good for you don't hang out with her!'" Usagi broke off her imitations there dissolving into tears again. Unable to list any more of the things she had heard whispered behind her back at Juuban. After she calmed down she spoke again. "It doesn't help that before Yuki turned on me she tried separating me from Naru."

Setsuna silently cursed, not for the first time, Usagi's classmates at Juuban for putting her through what she had dealt with. It did explain why Usagi had such a bad reaction to Michiru's comment at least. "You know that's not why Michiru was concerned right? She was worried that the same bullies that targeted Hotaru might turn on you."

"I know. Luna and Naru both explained that she was trying to protect me from Hotaru's bullies." Usagi admitted with a sniff.

"Were they always making those type of comments? When you were at Juuban?" Setsuna asked.

Usagi shook her head after a moment. "No well not to the same extent when I was still 'friends' with Yuki anyway. It was usually me being told who to avoid when I was still in her circle, then the other way around. It got more noticeable after she turned on me. But it really picked up after a certain incident with some boys in my class."

Setsuna frowned making a mental note to try and investigate what incident Usagi was talking about. It sounded pretty specific. Her intuition was telling her, though, that Usagi wasn't referring to the events that had happened towards the end of last year. So she wasn't sure what she was talking about exactly. She may have to visit the time gates to sneak a peek and see if the gates would let her, if Usagi wasn't telling. "You really should tell them about whatever it is that happened between you and Yuki."

"I know and I'm planning to next week. It's just hard talking about it." Usagi confessed.

"Would you like to talk about some of it here?" Setsuna suggested. It would be beneficial in more than one manner. Usagi could hopefully get better at talking about it. Setsuna would get some more details on what had happened.

Usagi thought for a moment. "No. I need Naru here if I'm going to talk about all of it. I'm not ready to do it on my own. Sorry."

"That's fine. Hopefully you'll feel comfortable addressing it another day." Setsuna assured her.

"You don't want to know what happened between me and Yuki?" Usagi asked giving her a surprised look a bit surprised Sestuna wasn't pressing her more.

"I do. When your ready to tell me. I think its more important for you to tell them first." Setsuna explained. While she would prefer to know sooner then later her situation with Usagi was different then the others. She could afford to have some patience. The others, they needed to know sooner than later. Her purpose in getting Usagi to talk about things was to simply help her through that. If she truly needed to, she could look and see but then that would remove her from being able to do anything about it and she wasn't sure she was able to control herself and not walk straight into whatever had happened and try to stop it. It was before Setsuna had been allowed away from the time gates to help Usagi. It was off limits. That didn't mean she had to like it.

* * *

"Makoto, who's the guy?" Usagi asked coming up to Makoto who was currently sitting at the Sailor V Game. At the moment aforementioned brunette was more interested in some guy playing a crane game then she was in playing the Sailor V Game. Still no sign of Zoicite or the Dark Kingdom which was a bit odd. Usagi would have thought that Beryl would have recovered from the loss of one of her generals by now. The peace and quiet was nice but the longer it stretched on the more she wondered if there was something they were missing as far as Dark Kingdom activity went.

"He looks like my old senpai.." Makoto said sounding a bit spaced out. Obviously whoever this old crush of her was was someone that she still thought about a lot.

"Ah did you two date or anything?" Usagi asked. Most likely not if Makoto was calling him an senpai and not boyfriend but still best to ask.

"No. He didn't feel the same." Makoto muttered. She wasn't entirely sure why she tended to compare everyone to a guy who had rejected her, harshly too. Maybe first love kind of thing?

"I really shouldn't be lecturing people on holding on to their past but…" Usagi began muttering under her breath. She was probably the worst person to be giving this kind of lecture. "Makoto there are plenty of fish in the sea you shouldn't go chasing after every guy that looks like your old crush." She would have thought the girl would be less interested in someone who had rejected her. Apparently not.

"Yeah I know that but…" Makoto trailed off there not entirely sure how to continue. To be honest she still wasn't sure at times why she tended to go looking at guys who resembled her old crush. She just found herself drawn to them for some reason. Seriously, it was an odd behavior. Why go chasing after someone you could never get?

"Sorry." Usagi apologized not really having meant to possibly insult her. She hadn't meant to bring up anything other then the odd old crush obsession but she had obviously done just that. Usagi briefly pondered if a youma was involved with the obsession. Michiru had mentioned the fact she had sensed negative energy at the arcade the last time the two had been there. It had been dismissed since their had been no active youma plots discovered and no sign of anyone who matched the description of Zoicite. Maybe it was more then a coincidence…

"It's fine. My heart beats like it's only remembers that moment, like it's always missing a beat between beats. When I saw senpai it was like that beat was within the grasp of my heart.." Makoto confessed. She had no blank gaps in her memory so why did she feel this way sometime?

"You don't have amnesia or anything?" Usagi asked frowning slightly. Tucking that piece of information away for later. Maybe Makoto was a Senshi and the feelings were tied to that?

"No. My heart just cries out for what it's missing I guess." Makoto confessed. Other than her temper and feeling lonely over a lack of family most days she was okay physically and mentally. It made the whole sensation even more odd.

"Strange.." Usagi noted frowning slightly. She had a familiar sensation at times but she put it off to the fact she was still regaining her memories of the Silver Alliance. Makoto, however, wasn't a senshi and didn't have ties to the Moon Kingdom that she knew of, though as Naru had proven you could have left over ties to the Silver Alliance and not be a Senshi.

* * *

"Makoto!" Usagi greeted coming up to the brunette. "Your pretty far out from Juuban what are you doing here?" She had been surprised to spot the brunette on the way home from class. While the triangle wasn't exactly that far from Juuban something felt a bit random about this.

"Hey Usagi!" Makoto greeted. "He asked me to tag along and since I didn't have anything better to do I agreed." Makoto said making a motion behind her where she could see the aforementioned person, Gamer Joe, who now that she was looking was talking to some lady.

"Why are you hanging out with him?" Usagi asked glancing back at Makoto with a frown.

"He's a little rough around the edges but maybe that's because he doesn't have enough love in his life." Makoto said with a shrug.

"Mako... he was really mean to you. Why are you hanging around someone like that?" Usagi asked. Was Makoto's crush obsession that bad that she needed to hang out with someone who actively treated her badly?

"He isn't all bad." Makoto muttered. Usagi cringed slightly at that. While that was true technically and she definitely got where the other girl was coming from. That still wasn't a very good reason to continue hanging out with him and letting him push her around.

"Why did he ask you to start hanging out anyway?" Usagi asked deciding to change the subject from why Makoto was willingly hanging out with the guy. Last she checked he wanted nothing to do with the other girl, and was pretty clear about that fact.

"I guess he wants me to be his bodyguard." Makoto shrugged and she really didn't care at the moment. She felt flattered regardless. At Usagi's confused look she elaborated. "Some blond haired ponytail guy started attacking him with some really wierd stuff, doing something that was causing him pain. I got in the fight with the pony tailed guy which allowed him to escape. I guess he wants me around in case pony-tail shows up again."

"Dark grey uniform?" Usagi said almost afraid to ask but now she was starting to wonder if Zoicite had finally reared his head.

"Yeah how did you know?" Makoto asked.

"I've seen a couple of people dressed like that around." Usagi admitted more then a bit impressed. As far as she knew Makoto was a pure civilian. The generals had shown time and time again that they were a force to be rekoned with when fighting. For Makoto to have been able to drive one of them off was no small feat. "It means nothing but trouble usually. Please, if you see one of them be careful."

"Isn't deciding someone's trouble based on how they dressed a bad thing?" Makoto asked raising an eyebrow.

"Normally. This is a bit more complicated." Usagi admitted chewing on her lip. "I'm pretty sure he's associated with bad news because I've heard of him before from someone else. I've never actually seen him in person before though I'll admit." Usagi explained. That was true up until this point all they knew about Zoicite was from Masato. "It might be a wild coincidence but after everything that's happened the last two months I'm inclined to think its not."

"Is this going back to the weird stuff you mentioned the first night we met?" Makoto asked.

"Yes." Usagi said scratching her head. Most of the plots when Masato had still been working for the Dark Kingdom hadn't gotten really noticed by the public for being actual plots. Well, with the exception of the wedding shop incident. From what she had seen most people had dismissed what had happened at the model contest as something else. With the lull and lack of Zoicite the first couple of weeks of school had been surprisingly quiet. "Hopefully someday soon it will calm down and talking about weird stuff happening in Juuban will be a thing of the past." Usagi said with a sigh. While she definetely didn't regret becoming Sailor Moon, it was _exhausting_. She was looking forward to the day they finally beat the Dark Kingdom because it would mean some peace and quiet finally.

"You talk like your directly involved in this.. weirdness?" Makoto said raising an eyebrow. Maybe she was reading too much into this but Usagi's wording was interesting.

"Eh...?! What makes you say that?!" Usagi said trying to do damage control. She couldn't deny she wasn't involved the weirdness. Clearly her internal panic showed on her face. Even Usagi had to admit she, herself, was a terrible liar. "So you are involved in it somehow. What in the world are you involved in?" Makoto asked raising an eyebrow, clearly able to read between the lines Usagi would rather she not.

"I'm sorry." Usagi didn't deny her involvement but couldn't tell her anything either. Her shoulders sagged at this and she wondered if she would lose a a potential friend today. Considering how Luna had drilled into her the fact that other people knowing her secret identity was a danger to not just her but to them. Usagi wasn't sure if she would have told Makoto if things were different.

After a moment Makoto sighed. "All right. I'll drop it. Just be careful okay?" Makoto said finally dropping the subject seeing that she wouldn't get any further on teh topic with Usagi.

"Thanks." Usagi said giving a slight smile before hugging Makoto in gratitude for her understanding. Not for the first time, she wondered why her? Why Usagi Tsukino and not someone more capable than herself? Actually that was another thing she had never got a straight answer out of Luna about. How she had found and picked her as Sailor Moon initially. It made sense that she was fit for the duty in a way since she could remember the Moon Kingdom, even if not all that well since her memories were still coming back. That still didn't really explain to her how Luna had found her. Maybe something to bug her about once she got home.

Before either of them could continue the conversation a man seemed to materialize out of thin air. Tossing a black crystal into the air it flipped a few time before forming some sort of barrier around Gamer Joe and then the screaming started. Usagi wasn't entirely sure what was happening or what Zoicite was doing other then it probably involved those Rainbow Crystals she had heard about it. Whatever it was definitely sounded highly unpleasant, Usagi thought flinching slightly. She could see why Makoto had gotten involved if she had stumbled across it.

"That's the guy I was talking about!" Makoto said taking a fighting stance having snapped out of her own surprise. Crap last thing she needed was Makoto engaging a Dark Kingdom general. That would not end well.

"Makoto, please let the Senshi handle this." Usagi pleaded grabbing the girl by the crook of her elbow. If she could get her out of the area and on her way home then she would be able to find a spot to transform and fight the youma. Problem was getting Makoto away. She needed to henshin just because of the fact that she was the only one who knew healing spells that could undo whatever it was that Zoicite was doing.

"But they aren't here." Makoto commented chewing on her lip slightly. She was way over her head with this weirdness but she couldn't just leave this guy, jerk or not.

"Makoto, _please_." Usagi said continuing to tug at the girl. She was going to have to be careful what she was saying or else Makoto might put two and two together and realize her secret job was being Sailor Moon.

"You really think they are close by." Makoto asked finally stepping back slightly.

"Yes." Usagi assured her and almost as if summoned by a sentence a yellow ball slid accross the ball just missing Zoicite. 'Perfect timing,' Usagi thought letting out a sigh of relief as she saw Uranus and Neptune come off a nearby path and into the clearing. She had hit the button on the communicator as soon as the blond haired general had materialized. "There's one of them right now. Come on Makoto lets get out of here." Now came the hard part figuring out how to ditch Makoto so she could transform. She had been able to ditch Makoto before by convincing her that she had somewhere safe to go the first time. Would that tactic work so well a second time? She took off back down a different path then she had come and out of the corner of her eye she saw Makoto follow after another moment of hesitation.

* * *

"Take care of them Gamecren!" Zoicite said before disappearing in a flowery whirlwind. He had stayed long enough to grab the Rainbow Crystal and introduce himself rather snidely to the Senshi before taking off.

"I didn't think anyone could rival Jadeite's lack of follow through but Zoicite just proved otherwise." Uranus quipped. Seriously, you awaken one of your bosses most powerful warriors and then walk away without thinking to take him with you? It just reeked of being a stupid idea. So far Masato appeared to have been the one who put the most thought behind his plans but then again they had only one encounter with Zoicite so it could be first day jitters for all they knew.

"Let's not look the gift horse in the mouth Uranus!" Neptune said. Yes, it did make zero sense that Zoicite had left without the Great Warrior from the area.. even if he had unfortunately acquired the Rainbow Crystal. Nonetheless, it was best not to over think the fact for the moment they only had a youma to deal with and not a youma and a general. Considering how well having to deal with both of them had gone last time.

"How is this a great warrior?" Uranus muttered Jadeite's youmas had been more of a problem at the time. Really, the most difficult thing at the moment was giving Moon an opening to heal him once she finally got back from where ever she had disappeared to. The rope things were proving to be more of a nuisance than a concern.

"Best not to bait him. For all we know those ropes could do a lot more then just hold us in place." Neptune pointed out.

"Sorry! It took me longer then I anticipated to ditch Mako!" Moon said finally running up. She had thought that getting the other girl to leave the first time was difficult. This time it was even more so. She had a feeling if she wanted to be able to transform in the future she was going to have be more careful about stumbling upon youma plots with Makoto around. Usagi frowned slightly. "Where did Zoicite run off too?"

"He apparently decided dealing with us was beneath him and left." Uranus answered.

"Really?" Moon asked in disbelief. Well it made things easier but it still didn't change the fact it made little sense.

"That's what I said." Uranus commented.

"Now is not the time to be discussing this!" Neptune reprimanded them both. "Moon do you think if we can keep him distracted long enough you can heal him or do you need him to be run down a bit more?"

Luna had been trying to train her in being able to see dark energy when she concentrated. The idea being that she would know just how much power to put behind a healing spell and was less likely to exhaust herself. It wasn't proving to be the easiest to learn. Not impossible, just difficult. They knew she had some psychic sensitivity. Not a lot, but she had to at least have some or else she would have never been able to see through the youma's disguise all those months back at Osa-P. As far as her and Luna could tell she didn't have a natural talent (most likely the Osa-P thing had been a one off thing brought on by the fact her Senshi powers were starting to come to the surface), as shown by the fact she really hadn't seen anything like that since then, for it so it wasn't easy. Managing to get her mind back on track she found that when she concentrated she could make out some sort of aura hovering around the youma. Not overly strong but noticeable and from what Luna had been saying appeared to be within the 'Non-Over exhertion range'. Moon hesitated for a moment hoping she was reading it right. "I think I'm good to heal him as long as you keep him distracted."

"Alright! Uranus take his left I'll take his right. He seems to only have one rope-" Neptune began only to be interrupted by having to scatter as three ropes shot out of the device on the youma's arm. "Spoke too soon!" Neptune noted. That definitely complicated things.

"That's new." Uranus commented as the ropes started to return to the human turned youma. Before he had been shooting one rope at a time. Now he had just shot three in different directions.

"It complicates things and suggests a new problem. It might be the longer we let him run around the more he discovers. We need to take care of him quickly!" Neptune surmised. If he hadn't been shooting more then one rope at a time prior to now it suggested that he hadn't been aware of the capability. That might mean the longer he stayed in this form the more he discovered about it and the more difficult it would be for Usagi to revert him back to a normal human.

"Yeah, this is going to make it more difficult to find an opening." Moon pointed out.

"Maybe if you get out of the line of sight he won't be able to attack you. Do you think you can get yourself up in a tree?" Uranus asked.

Moon chewed on her lip slightly before dodging another attempt to catch her with the rope. "I don't know if I can climb a tree anymore." The option of going up into a nearby tree wasn't a bad one considering it would put her out of sight range and attack range for the youma from what they could tell but there was another matter at hand. While it would put her out of the way of the youma and its ropes there was the matter she hadn't gone tree climbing in years. Not since before the quake she wasn't sure if she could handle the athleticism needed to get up on a branch. And she wasn't sure how well that would go if she attempted it. Best to just wait for an opening and try tree climbing in a less dangerous situation.

"Okay. Ideas?" Uranus asked frowning slightly. Before an idea popped into her head. It wasn't the best idea but she couldn't think of anything else either, so she continued. "I could probably restrain it while you heal it." It would mean getting up close and personal with the youma which wasn't ideal. Especially since it was difficult to say how strong the youma was in comparison to her. But there wasn't many other ideas.

"I really don't like the idea of you having a wrestling match with a youma." Moon commented as one of the 'ropes' destroyed a nearby vending machine. Sure, it would give her an opening but it would also put Uranus in a lot more danger.

"And you have a better idea?" Uranus argued.

"She's right! I don't like it either." Neptune added. She liked the idea of Uranus wrestling with a youma even less then Moon, but the way things were going, the longer they waited to heal it the worse the situation got for them.

Moon caved. "Be careful."

"I always am." Uranus said a bit cheekily before engaging the youma.

"We have got to find a better way to do this that doesn't involve wrestling a youma." Moon muttered to herself as she tried to stay out of reach of the ropes that were flying around with a mind of their own. Probably the youma was too distracted to control them. That was a plus at least. Sure this worked this time and a couple of other times. But how often would they be able to rely on it?

"Moon!" Uranus called finally having gotten an upper hand on controlling the youma.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Moon said pointing the compact in the direction of the two. Once she had it it was fairly quick to get the youma back to human form.

"Are you all right Moon?" Neptune asked giving her a slightly concerned look. Moon appeared to be fine for all intents and purposes but considering how tired she had been last time, and the fact Usagi had a tendency to hide things. Best to ask.

"I'm fine. Barely felt it that time. I've had more time to train my use of the spell so I have better control over it than when we healed Masato." Usagi gave them a reassuring smile. Maybe because this one had less ties to the Dark Kingdom then Masato had but that had been significantly easier to cast then when she was healing Masato. Good thing too. She had a feeling that now that Zoicite was starting to search out the Great Warriors she was going to be using the spell more often and would have less leeway time to recover between uses. "What about you? Uranus?"

"I'm fine." Uranus said sounding a bit amused by that. Sure he had gotten a few elbows in but once she had the thing's arms restrained it had been easy.

Sailor Moon thought a moment before speaking. "It's still not that easy. But I was able to get a read on it."

"It will get better with practice." Luna assured her. Moon jumped slightly. She had thought Luna was with Naru back in juuban. Glancing between Luna and the older Senshi wondering if they had had a chance to talk about Moon and Neptune's miscommunication.

"Luna? Is he going to be okay if we just leave him?" Moon asked with some hesitation. Deciding to dodge the topic she knew Luna wanted to talk about. Yeah he had been a jerk towards Makoto but it didn't feel right to just leave him without knowing if he was all right.

"He'll be fine. He may have a headache and a few bruises from the fighting when he wakes up from all this but that should be the only side effect." Luna reassured her. She doubted he would have even that to be honest when he woke up. The spell would have wiped away any damage caused to his youma form during the fight.

Neptune frowned for a second. "Could Zoicite or another one of the higher ups come back for him to try and use him as a pawn of the Dark Kingdom?"

"I guess that's a possibility. I'm not entirely sure how they would pull that off considering he's back to being a normal human." Luna confessed glancing back at Joe with a frown. It was definitely something a bit off about him. He was admitting lower level negative energy then he had been before Zoicite got to him. For all intents and purposes he appeared to be human with no ties to the Dark Kingdom. Then again, there still wasn't much they knew about the Dark Kingdom maybe they could bring him back as a youma. "He's of no use to them now. He should be fine to be left alone."

"Are you going back to Naru's?" Uranus asked turning to her as they started to walk away.

"Moon, your avoiding it again." Luna pointed out when she saw the other girl hesitating to repsond. She knew the plan had been next week but why wait?

"Sailor Moon. I wanted to warn you so you wouldn't think it was your legs if they turned on you as well." Neptune explained.

"I used to be worried about the same thing happening to Naru." Moon confirmed. "I appreciate the concern but I've handled a lot worse than a few mean comments. Those words were child's play compared to what used to get tossed around. Its just the warning hit a bit too close to what I was used to hearing at Juuban." Uranus and Neptune exchanged a glance both wondering just wondering how much had gone on at Juuban and how it had been allowed to go on.

"Moon we're not trying to hurt you but if you keep hiding things like this its kind of hard not to say something that does." Uranus commented.

Moon found herself hesitating again. Even after agreeing with Naru and Luna that she needed to tell them everything it was hard to commit to actually doing it. "Fine." Moon said finally caving. Partly because she was tired of having to hide it. "Not here." Luna perked up a bit at this. She honestly had been half expecting Usagi to back out. "I'll meet you at Osa-P" Moon added. She couldn't do this without Naru.

"That's fine." Neptune assured her. Just glad they were finally going to be clearing the air about the whole subject.

"Your sure about this?" Uranus asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not being given a choice." Moon sighed.

* * *

"Thank you Naru." Usagi greeted letting her friend in. Taking the offered overnight bag from her. As long as nothing changed she wasn't planning to go back to Naru's.

"Always glad to help. You sure about doing this now?" Naru asked. She had been kind of surprised when Usagi had called her telling her the plans. But she had been more then willing to help.

"Not really. I don't think I can run this time." Usagi said gazing out the window nearby at the now darkening sky. Truth be told she wasn't sure if she would ever be ready to talk about everything involving Yuki. She guessed it was now or never. "I'll help." Naru said quietly hugging Usagi from behind and gently resting her head on her back. Usagi's right hand came up to touch her friends hand with a gentle smile. Maybe, just maybe with Naru here she could do this.

* * *

Usagi took a seat on the middle of the couch in the living room and Naru took one of the empty chairs as Haruka and Michiru found their own spots on another couch. Usagi let out a breath of air as Luna hopped into her lap. "It will be fine Usagi." Luna assured her. She was glad Usagi was finally going to open up on what had happened with this Yuki girl when she was at Juuban.

Usagi doubted that but decided not to voice that particular thought. Digging up everything that had happened with Yuki was never easy for her. "Its just never easy to think about everything that involved her. I don't really think I ever talked to anyone outside of the school officials about what happened." Usagi confessed. And even then she wasn't even told everything. A lot of times the school office had turned a deaf ear the minute she had walked through the door as the situation had progressed. So probably only her, Yuki, the cronies, Naru, and her family knew exactly what had gone on inside school walls. Or at least to the full extent.

"The incident at the ball actually was childs play compared to some of the other things that happened." Naru began things, seeing Usagi didn't seem to know how to start. That had been cruel humiliation compared to some of the things that Yuki had tried or succeeded at when they were at Juuban…

"I'm not sure how setting up someone to be publicly humiliated in front of a crowd like that is child's play." Michiru said looking over at the red head with a frown. That seemed to be almost underplaying the event.

"She tried to set up Usagi to be raped once." Naru counter pointed going straight to probably the most infamous incident at Juuban, her tone quiet steel.

That got a reaction out of the others. Haruka was lightly swearing under her breath at the idea. And Michiru…well her reaction wasn't verbal but judging by the balled fists she wasn't happy by what Naru had said either. Luna looked up at her from her position on Usagi's lap. "Usagi?"

"Way to jump ahead Naru." Usagi muttered under her breath before sighing. She had been planning on telling them about that. But she hadn't been planning on bringing it up straight off the block. Too late now she guessed. "It's true."

Haruka began trying to express her anger at the situation but was unable to find words. Her fist met the wall as she screamed. Everyone gave her a moment to recollect herself before she sat back down in her seat before continuing.

"Yuki is a sadist with heavily vested interest in Usagi." Naru supplied.

Usagi hesitated for a moment and then finally moved into talking about Yuki's reign. If she let this keep going she might never talk about it so that meant cutting Naru off for now. "When I first moved to Juuban she was actually weirdly nice to me. Looking back she was probably using me even then. Everything was so fresh and I was still hurting from losing so much that I didn't pay it much mind at the time. The worst thing she did then was try to separate me and Naru. That all changed right after the first time I visited Shingo's grave and she tagged along. About eight months after the earthquake. I don't remember her exact reaction to the visit, just a lot of yelling and name calling but its more of a blur. I just know it wasn't good. At the time since I thought I could trust her I asked her and Naru to come with me. That was a mistake as it turns out…"

 _Usagi walked along the school. It wasn't the best day. Yuki's reaction to her_ _tears_ _at her brothers grave, to her breaking down, had been rather horrible and made her wonder some things, about how close they actually were. She hoped they were still friends and she wondered why she reacted so strongly the way she did._

_Next thing Usagi knew she came to her locker. Across the locker in bright red was written 'Legless Whore', 'Freak', among other profanities. Usagi's heart caught in her throat but she refused to cry. When she went to open her locker legless barbie dolls hung by there necks in makeshift nooses with a note. 'It should have been you.'_

_This time she did cry. Ran into the bathroom to cry in a stall. Before she could get there, there was a group of girls with Yuki in the lead. 'Baby Usagi gonna cry?' Usagi, wide eyes and betrayed looked at her. "Wha..?" Yuki Sneered. "You didn't really think I'd be friends with a little crybaby like you did you?_ _Me? Friends with a_ _legless whorebag like you?_ _!_ _"_

 _Next thing Usagi knew she was grabbed on all sides and gagged. She was held down and her clothing ripped while her legs were forcibly removed. "Legless" was carved into each prosthetic and then written over with permanent marker. "We should carve it into her skin next." Said one of the girls. Yuki's eyes glinted and they began to gather around the terrified_ _,_ _crying Usagi._

 _Thankfully at that moment Naru's voice cut through everything. 'USAGI!" Horrified_ _,_ _having just figured out where her friend had run off to after seeing the locker. Naru called for help as the girls dropped the crying mess that was Usagi and scattered elsewhere, exiting the bathroom._

Haruka growled with fist clenched. "The ball wasn't the first time." She stated, obviously trying not to abuse Naru's family home anymore or risk a whole in the walls.

Usagi let out a dry, broken laugh at that. She wished that had been the first time Yuki had called her that. "It was practically my name for a while. Her and her friends refused to call me anything else. People I didn't even know used it." Usagi admitted. She had broken down over the name at the ball partly because she hadn't been expecting to hear that 'name' again on top of everything else. Yuki hadn't called her that in months so she thought she was no longer going to here it. Hearing it again had dragged out a lot of bad memories.

"How have we never noticed?" Michiru wondered to herself. Having words carved into prosthetic was a bit hard to miss.

"Some polish and paint made it harder to see." Usagi said lifting her right leg so they could better see where the word legless was carved. Her and Naru had spent hours trying to erase the damage the others had wrecked on them. Since it wasn't enough damage to make the prosthetic unusable replacing them hadn't been an option at the time just due to the sheer cost. This was why she was looking forward to getting to the point in the trial she could start using the prosthetics outside of the clinic. It would mean one less connection to Yuki. She lowered it after a moment shrugging. "Can't make it so it looks like it's completely brand new but I can make it disappear enough that I almost forget its there." And hopefully soon enough she wouldn't be wearing them much longer. "That was the only time Yuki and her crew went after my legs. At least to cause damage. We aren't sure why they never went the route again but it might have been something the school said." Might being the key word. The school had never acted against them on anything else.

_That was just the start of it as it turned out. In the coming weeks she would quickly discover that the girls would not be dealt with by the school at all. The burden of avoiding them was placed on Usagi, though she often failed despite her best efforts. Spit balls in her hair, name calling, death wishes in her locker, the legless barbie dolls was a particularly cruel running joke that seemed to happen over again._

_Her locker had been a favorite target of theirs until it had got to the point where she could no longer use it because she never knew if it was safe. One day it was a bag of feces in her locker, another it was a knife rigged to swing towards her when she opened it. That had actually been what forced her to stop using her locker._

_Which meant they just moved their torture to other means. Trash and rotting food in her desk, stealing her pencils, taking her prosthetics till she refused to shower in the school locker room and ended up made fun of for that as well. Locking her in a school closet to the point she had panicked from the claustrophobia she had developed because of Tohoku to the point she had nearly passed out._

_In one particularly infamous instance Yuki had set her up to be raped by pretending she was forced into her behavior and playing that she was still her friend then not showing up. Instead there were three boys waiting for her in an empty classroom instead of Yuki. Naru and Umino had been close by for moral support and had acted quickly. A teacher had gotten involved and the boys had charges pressed but Yuki never faced any repercussions for her part in setting her up to be raped. While the boys didn't succeed, it still was horrible._

"Did the boys get expelled?" Haruka asked failing to keep the anger that she was feeling out of her voice. It had been slowly building as Naru and Usagi had traded off telling the story. And to make it worse it seemed like neither girl were quiet done.

"They 'voluntarily' transferred after that. Their parents argued that there was no way to know for sure what there intent was. The school admin sided with them Of course." Usagi said letting out a slight scoff. When had the school ever sided with her? Looking back it almost seemed like Juuban had it out for her. The only time they had even done anything that had been on her side was because her parents had threatened legal action if something wasn't done. "Not that it helped. That just made the friends of the boys that were still there go and team up with Yuki and her group. It made the situation worse." Usagi confessed.

"We also lost the one person that worked for the school that would maybe help us. Ms Haruna was let go shortly thereafter. Well they said 'transferred' but we could never figure out where she went exactly." Naru added. "She couldn't do much really. Just being a teacher but she wouldn't put up with a lot of Yuki's antics in her classroom. So, it was one of the few safe places on campus."

"I wouldn't mind tracking her down now." Usagi commented to herself. Ms. Haruna may not have been the worlds greatest teacher but she had been there when it had mattered most. Keeping Yuki from acting out towards her and letting her classroom be one of two places on the campus Usagi and Naru could take lunch without having to worry about other students.

"After that she couldn't go anywhere alone on campus. We were too afraid that someone would try a repeat incident." Naru admitted. "The longer it went on the more it progressed from threats. We were actually in the middle of squabbling with the school admin about getting permission to take our lunch off campus when it finally stopped."

"Why would you need to take lunch off campus?" Luna asked frowning.

"Sometimes they just didn't put rotten food in my desk. But poisoned my food. I lost…" Usagi frowned there not entirely sure. She turned to Naru. "How much time do you think I missed from school because I kept getting sick?"

"I know at least two, maybe part of three weeks." Naru admitted after a moment. "I know it was enough that it was making school even more complicated."

"It put me even further behind than I was. It's hard to keep up with your studies when you keep missing class from having a 'stomach virus'." Usagi said putting air quotes around stomach virus.

"What made them finally stop?" Michiru asked.

"Better yet when did they finally stop?" Luna asked. She had a sinking feeling that this has been happening far more recently then she initially had believed. She had always believed that the whole thing with Yuki had taken place at least a year before she had found Usagi. Now she was starting to think otherwise.

"They tried a different tactic this time, right before the winter break. About four weeks before you found me Luna." Usagi said after a moment.

"Usagi ended up in the hospital." Naru quietly added.

"What happened?" Haruka asked eyes narrowing.

"I don't remember what happened. I just remember being slammed into a wall so hard I swear I could hear my head crack. And then the next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital two days later." Usagi explained. Absent minded rubbing her head in the spot she had hit it. It no longer hurt but she could almost feel where the worst of it had been. She knew what had happened because she had seen the security footage but she had no memories of what had happened.

"I was the one that found her." Naru said after a moment. Her voice cracking slightly as she remembered it. She had gone looking for Usagi because it was during lunch. Only to find her lying at the bottom of the stairs with a pool of blood nearby. She had never been so scared for her friend outside of the attempted rape incident. "It would be over a week before the full story got out. Thankfully this time they had been caught on camera so the school had to act. Several of Yuki's cronies had ganged up on her and beat her to a pulp. It wasn't the first time Usagi had been hit by one of them but it was the first time they had done such damage and this time someone made the mistake of doing something like throwing her down the stairs in range of security camera. This time there was no way the school could deny what had happened. They had to act or risk legal action."

"Everyone that was dumb enough to get caught on camera was expelled. The school had no way of trying to make it gloss over this time. Thank god. Of course, not all of the group that had been tormenting me was expelled. Not all of them were involved first off. And second Yuki isn't exactly dumb. Mean yes, dumb no. She knew how to make sure there was no way to trace it back to her. It was probably her idea but she wasn't caught on camera so there was no way to prove she was behind it, but they must have said something to her because after I came back at the beginning of the new year that they suddenly backed off." Usagi said after a moment. In the last month she had barely been approached by Yuki and her friends. She still had heard them making snide comments in passing. But outside of the chinchella incident she had had no interaction with them, good or bad. At least at school.

* * *

A few hours later they were back at the apartment. Usagi had retreated for the night already tired from all the day's activities. Leaving Michiru to think over some of what they had been revealed that day.

“Something on your mind Michiru?” Haruka asked coming up to where she was standing out on the apartment’s balcony.

Michiru quietly nodded her head, unsure what to say after a moment. There had been many things said this afternoon but she kept coming back to one thing. The supposed near rape incident. She wanted to believe Usagi hadn’t actually been put through it but there were other signs that there was more.

“About what she told us this afternoon?” Haruka guessed.

Michiru nodded. “Do you remember that boy we saw at the mall back in January?”

“The day of the clock store incident?” Haruka guessed having a feeling where this was going. At Michiru’s nod, she added her own thoughts. “I don't think I've ever seen her that terrified of anyone. She faces down youma bigger than that guy without a thought to her safety but she was frozen in front of that punk. I don't like it.” Haruka said after a moment going over the scene in her mind again. Maybe it hadn’t been one of the boys that had apparently tried to assault Usagi. The fear pointed to there being a history there and it was all pointing in one very unpleasant direction.

“Do you think more could have happened than she is saying?” Michiru said quietly fists clenching slightly. Had Usagi actually been raped? Had there really been nothing that she hadn’t been allowed to suffer through while attending Juuban?

"Would you say if it had been you? Would she? People can be pretty stupid about that sort of thing, even people you think you know.” Haruka asked after a moment, clearly eluding to another similar subject that had both of there families quietly shunning them. Could you really even ask that kind of question? It seemed like they already knew the answer to that question but was it one they should or wanted to ultimately ask Usagi? Would she even tell them?

Michiru thought for a moment before shaking her head. “These things have a way of coming out.” Michiru worried over Usagi and the effect such would have over her if they got further than Usagi was saying. "All we can do is support her. No matter what happened." Continued Michiru. Haruka quietly agreed with her. "It's not enough." She grumbled angrily sitting down and putting her head in her hands. Michiru stood gracefully beside her and put her hand on her shoulder. "It is all we can really do." "I could kill him." Haruka piped in without missing a beat. Michiru almost laughed despite the situation. Same old Haruka. "That won't change the past." Michiru intoned. Haruka huffed. "It's one less thing for her to fear in the world." Michiru, for her part, could not argue with that even as she knew they could not murder the boy.

End Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And thats a wrap for this week. Next update will be on the 6th with Chapter 18.
> 
> As always please remember to leave review or a comment for the chapter. They always make my day.
> 
> And that's a wrap for this week. See ya on the 6th


	18. Saturn Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone welcome to this weeks chapter. Thanks for all the reviews.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> On with the chapter.

Chapter 18

Saturn Rising

"I can't see everything that will be in the time stream and I am rarely aloud to involve myself outside of guarding the time gates. Chronos, god of time, is able to see more. I have no idea if he has rules. He is the one who gave me permission to intervene." Sestuna admitted. She had been trying to get Usagi to agree to go to Shingo's grave. Usagi had decided the best way to go about that was to deflect the conversation entirely to how Sestuna's abilities worked. And her lack of involvement with the fight with Masato. Sestuna decided to answer her for now and go back to the topic that they had gotten off of. "I had some specific instructions when I was given permission to leave my post at the Time Gates. One of which was to try and limit my involvement in the time stream until Zoicite became Beryl's lead general." Sestuna explained. By Chronos's instructions she shouldn't have gotten involved in the Jadeite affair, but having known Usagi for a couple of weeks she had been able to correctly guess that the girl would probably not be able to handle fighting an actual human very well. So she had decided that her getting involved was best for all involved.

"Why would you need to limit your involvement before Zoicite?" Usagi asked tilting her head in confusion.

"You have heard of the butterfly effect before correct?" Sestuna asked.

"The whole thing with the butterfly in China causing something in America right?" Usagi asked.

"Correct. What maybe a small change on the surface can have a ripple effect changing several things further down the time stream." Sestuna explained.

"The Tohoku quake." Usagi realized. Apparently the quake had changed a lot more then she had realised about her life.

"That wasn't the only difference but it was one of many." Sestuna admitted. She wasn't going to go into the full details. If they tried it would be a several day affair. So letting Usagi believe that the changes started around her rebirth in northern Japan was easiest at the moment. But it wasn't the only difference that had lead them to this particular path of the time stream. "The quake is a natural event that occurs in pretty much every time stream from what I know. However, how much it effects you depends directly on other events of the time line." Like where and when Usagi and the others had been reborn from what she understood. Her best knowledge of course was the time stream that she lived in. But she did have slight knowledge of some of the occurrences of the other time streams. And to know their particular path was a bit unusual.

Technically the time stream changes went even further back then that. But unless Usagi remembered everything of the Moon Kingdom, it was doubtful she would ever know that. At the moment Sestuna and Chronos were the only living beings that knew just how far back you could technically trace the chaos effect that had helped them land in their current scenario. Saturn might know if she re awoke but that was only because she wasn't sure Saturn's memories on the subject matter had been properly sealed.

"What does that have to do with the whole you working with us as a Senshi though?" Usagi asked frowning.

"From what I understand, usually the size of the team doesn't grow to three until Zoicite becomes Beryl's general task master. It's impossible to say if me getting involved earlier would have changed a few minor things or somehow led to Beryl's victory." Sestuna explained. Okay that was probably an extreme example that was highly unlikely to happen if anything her involvement was more likely to guarantee a timeline where the Dark Kingdom lost then won. And to be quiet honest she wasn't sure if it was possible to have a time line where Beryl won. She had a feeling if the events led that way Chronos would get involved to prevent that sequence of events. But there was a remote possibility. So it wasn't a completely out there example.

Usagi made a face. "Okay I can see why you getting too involved would be a problem."

"Chronos wanted to make sure things didn't get anymore dangerously off track then they were. I had guidelines when I first landed here." Sestuna explained. Plus she had wanted to get involved to help her princess. Usagi needed support that the others simply couldn't provide like she could with her personal training.

"You know the others might not like that explanation." Usagi pointed out after a moment.

Setsuna shrugged. It wasn't as if she or they could change it. What was past was past at this point. "Now back to the topic that you got us off of. Visiting Shingo's grave. Why are you so reluctant to visit?"

Usagi sighed. "I don't know. I know it won't change that he's dead." And seemed to drive home the point that she felt like she had failed her brother in keeping him from dying that day.

"Visiting a grave makes death more real but it can also have it's own form of closure with it. Your still at least partly in the denial phase of grieving." Sestuna said more to herself than to Usagi. Usagi's previous doctors hadn't really done the girl any favors from a recovery standpoint. Though whether that was because of how very short she had been with most of them or just sheer incompetence Sestuna wasn't sure.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Usagi agreed with a shrug.

Sestuna frowned they needed to get Usagi to move past that phase eventually but it wasn't going to be an overnight process. First step would be to get the girl to actually go to Shingo's grave. Preferably more then once. "Would going with your parents help?"

"I think that would make it harder." Usagi admitted after a moment. The last time she had gone with her parents to visit Shingo's grave their grief had made her just feel guiltier about the situation. She had been able to survive where Shingo had died even though as his older sister she should have died before she let that happen.

"What about going with the girls?" Sestuna suggested seeming to realize why Usagi didn't want to go with family. She didn't want Usagi to go alone but if Usagi wanted to go parent free then the next options were Naru, Haruka, or Michiru, or even all three of them if they could get the schedule worked out that way. She could come too but she felt that having Usagi with people that were closer to her was the best option.

Usagi looked away. "I don't want to be a burden about it."

Sestuna frowned. "There is no shame in asking for may even be upset if you don't ask and they find out you needed it." She had a feeling this all traced back to Yuki but getting information about what had exactly had gone down was a slow process that she had realized early on, couldn't be rushed.

Usagi sighed. "They already worry so much with what they know. If they knew there was more... I wonder if it will reach limit for them. They already handle so much without me having these problems." In the end Usagi's broken, self depreciating smile flashed before she looked out a nearby window, now quiet. Sestuna briefly debated trying and seeing if she brought up Yuki to see if she could get answers today but decided to drop it for the moment. Usagi spoke out of genuine concern, not only fear for there reaction, as had already been covered previously. While it might be related she also spoke feelings that likely didn't need Yuki's influence to be there. and Setsuna knew the answers about how much was Yuki and how much was her natural self before or without Yuki would come in time.

"I think we're done for today, unless you have anything you would like to bring up or ask Usagi?" At the shake of Usagi's head, Setsuna continued. "I would like you to have either talked to the others about them accompanying to you to the grave or if you can visit the grave by the time we next visit but that is up to you whether you do it or not." Sestuna said deciding to wrap it up for now. She doubted the later would get done but she wanted them to get at least started on the process of getting her past the denial phase of Usagi's grief. And the first step was making her visit the grave again.

* * *

"The sea often hides churning waters under a calm surface." Michiru said coming up next to Usagi as she looked out the window the day after Usagi's session with Setsuna. Michiru was getting to know the other girl well enough now when she could tell Usagi was bothered, clearly, and hesitating about something she was on the edge of, though not what that might be. Michiru went to place her hand on Usagi's arm before hesitating and deciding against it, not wishing to make Usagi uncomfortable or cross any boundaries of personal space. "If you need to talk I'm here." She said instead, offering her presence and an ear should Usagi need her.

Usagi chewed on her lip for a second. "I am going to visit Shingo's grave the day after tomorrow and I don't want to go alone but I don't want to be a burden either. I am not sure what to do or if it is too much to ask you or Haruka to go with me." She was going to ask Naru tomorrow and she would probably say yes but considering how she had sprung it up she might have something else already planned. Actually, they might too, which if that was the case she wasn't sure what to do. Go with her parents? She would like to avoid that.

"You don't want to go with your parents?" Haruka asked mildly surprised from her place on the couch nearby, clearly having been listening during this exchange. She would have assumed that if Usagi was going to visit her brother's grave she would rather go with family but the fact she was asking them suggested otherwise.

"It's harder to go with them." Usagi admitted. The unspoken suggestion being that she felt responsible and it was harder to face them in there own grief alongside her own when she felt responsible as the cause, as if she should have been able to save him and failed when she didn't do so. Her fault.

"We would be glad to come. Is Naru going to be coming?" Michiru asked. She didn't mind the red head. It was probably better if she did. Usagi and Naru were still closest at this point. Even with as close they were getting to Usagi Naru would know how to handle her best if something happened at the grave. Honestly, she would almost prefer Naru being there

"I haven't asked her yet but I was planning to." Usagi said.

"You've been to the grave before?" Haruka asked. She didn't think she had avoided going to the grave but with Usagi's tendency to avoid things at times…

"Yes. I was allowed to go to his funeral and I've been a few times since since then. Almost always with Naru. It's been longer this time, a few months since I visited." Usagi admitted. The last time she had gone was shortly before the winter holidays with her parents. She tried to avoid going with her parents just because it did make her feel even guiltier about his death. But around major holidays it was unavoidable.

"What do you mean allowed?" Haruka asked eyes narrowing. Had someone tried to keep her from going to her own brothers funeral?! She knew Usagi had spent quiet a bit of time in the hospital after the quake and it sounded like Shingo had been buried during that time. If that was the case, that might mean that Shingo may not be buried in Tokyo and would require a train trip to visit. She wasn't opposed since it probably wouldn't take to long on the bullet train to but it did complicate things.

"I had to fight to go." Usagi admitted squirming a bit. Shingo's funeral had been pretty early on in the recovery but it had been something she needed to attend. The doctor's hadn't been exactly happy about her going but it had been an argument she had been able to win. Eventually. "I was still in the hospital recovering."

"Back in your old hometown?" Michiru said deciding to change topics to where Shingo was burried. She didn't think he'd be burried so far away, especially with the damage to that area and so much of it having still been under water at that but but it was still best to ask. They would go either way, or at least she would and was pretty sure Haruka would. Best to know where exactly they were going. While it sounded like Usagi had pushed her health, and that worried Michiru, if it had been one of her sisters and she had been in the same circumstance she probably would have done much the same, no matter how much doctors wanted to stop her. She would expect Haruka would feel much the same, or be trying to avenge her death in some way, if it was herself being burried, so she couldn't imagine Haruka feeling differently on the subject.

Usagi shook her head to the negative. "He's buried about a half hour from here at one of the larger Catholic cemeteries. Mom wanted him close by so we could visit more easily." Usagi answered. By the time they had buried Shingo her Dad had all ready begun to transfer to Tokyo and she had been moved to a more specialized treatment center closer to where they now lived.

"Your family's Christian?" Haruka asked in surprise. Really at this point while they were finding out more, they still didn't know a ton about Usagi's family other then a few comments here and there about Shingo. They had only met Usagi's parents a few times in passing. With their interactions being mostly around the time after the bridal shop incident talking with her Mom. Christians in Japan weren't exactly common, so it was a bit of a shock.

"Yes, at least on Mom's side. My mom's half American. My grandfather was a missionary way back in the day. Came over and liked it enough that he stayed. Mom doesn't go to church anymore but she wanted Shingo buried in a more Catholic style. Dad didn't seem to have a problem with it but then I think he may have wanted him burried closer to where we would be able to visit more as well." Usagi explained. Her dad wasn't exactly religious so he hadn't converted or practiced much in the way of religion, but he had been willing to let Shingo be buried in a more Catholic manner.

"So... the day after tomorrow?" Michiru asked. If Usagi was this far into planning then she must have an idea of when she wanted to visit.

"Yes, Saturday is what I was thinking. Can't go during the week because of school." Left unsaid was the fact that this chapel held mass on sunday's and she wanted to avoid as much of a crowd as possible. Also the pitying looks, she'd like to avoid those as well, however well meaning they may be.

* * *

"Usagi, are you sure your okay about doing this?" Naru asked coming up to her at lunch and dropping her voice slightly. Usagi had finally told Naru about her Saturday plans and while Naru had gone ahead with it. Naru couldn't help but have some concerns, visiting Shingo's grave was always a bit of a trial for Usagi.

Usagi closed her eyes for a moment before responding. "No but Miss Setsuna's right I need to try and make an effort of visiting more often."

"Usagi, I know she's your doctor and she's had the best track record out of all them. She probably has the best grasp out of anyone of your situation that isn't family just because of her other job but she isn't completely infallible." Naru pointed out. She got that the intent was good but she wasn't sure if the execution so much lined up with that.

"I know." Usagi sighed. "I am long overdue to visit Shingo anyway. A slight push isn't the end of the world."

"If you say so." Naru said with a bit of skepticism.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind Naru." Michiru mused as Naru started to lag behind a bit caught up in her thoughts about the day.

"I just wonder sometimes if she's pushing too hard." Naru confessed watching Usagi walk ahead and look in a shop window with Haruka. "I get Usagi needs to face the facts of life if she is ever going to move on. And Ms Setsuna's trying to help with that. But…"

"If your that concerned maybe you should raise them with Setsuna herself." Michiru pointed out.

"Probably. Guess I feel awkward because I am no professional, just a friend." Naru said after a moment. It wasn't a bad idea but what if Sestuna was right that Usagi needed to be pushed. She couldn't exactly hide everything from site forever no matter how much she wanted too.

"A friend who knows her best out of all of us." Michiru pointed out. "Maybe it won't make a difference but I bet you'll feel better if you at least discuss your concerns with her."

"Yeah that's probably true." Naru agreed. When to bring them up was a good question. She had never been to Setsuna's office, only having heard about it from Usagi. Probably a quick internet search would ID it easily enough. Something to think about for later she guessed.

* * *

Usagi stood before the grave marker of her little brother, having left the others closer to the entrance to wait for her. She kneeled and said her prayers for her brother as she set the flowers and incense in the holder's at her brothers grave. Why Shingo? Thoughts of her brother spanned an eternity in those moments. Shingo, the pain in the butt, Shingo the brat, shingo the noble, shingo in good and bad moments alike spanned her memories as she stood there lost between drowning in feeling and being numb.

Usagi had been so caught up in her own thoughts and memories she had nearly run smack dab into Hotaru as she had been walking back towards the others. "Ouch... Sorry. You Ok? I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going and-"

Hotaru shook her head for a moment. She was used to people 'accidentally' running into her at school though in this case it seemed like it was genuine apology. Then again, considering where they were it was easy to have your mind elsewhere. "It's Ok. I'm not hurt."-a moments pause as she seemed to consider Usagi a moment before continuing- "Here to pay respect to long dead ancestors?"

Usagi made a face. If it was long lost ancestors this probably would be a lot easier to do. "No. I'm originally from the north of Tokyo." Her family's ancestors weren't buried around here (or were at least as she hadn't gone to her old hometown since before the quake struck so she wasn't sure what the state of their graves were. Her parents probably knew since they had been back a few times but she hadn't bothered to ask). "My younger brother is."

"I am so sorry." Hotaru apologised genuinely. She should have known better to jump to assumptions about why someone her age was paying respects to someone's grave, especially considering why she was here herself.

"Not your fault." Usagi said, unwilling to trust herself to say more at the moment. Part of the reason Ms. Sestuna had been insisting she come here was to try and move through the grieving process.

"We're visiting my Mom." Hotaru began offering. "She was killed in the Tohoku event. She's buried here with the rest of the family…" Hotaru drew off there.

"Do you still sometimes almost expect her to come walking back through your front door like it never happened?" Usagi asked wondering if she was abnormal for this.

"How..?" The smaller girl startled very clearly before answering. "Yes."

"My brother was killed in the tsunami. There are days where I half expect him to come walking through the front door like nothing happened.. and also days I can almost feel my legs as if they are still there. Both at the same time can be harder some days because feeling like they are almost still there, it's like he should be too so then I catch myself looking where he'd normally have come in the door before. It probably seems silly. The door isn't even the same but..." The words came tumbling in her raw emotional state before Usagi caught herself and simply let it trail off. She wasn't sure what about Hotaru that made her comfortable about talking about the subject but she felt like it wasn't just her emotions bursting forth. Maybe it was because she was another victim or maybe it was because she was truly, as Luna suspected, a senshi? Something to ponder on another day she guessed.

"What makes it harder is that we never found her body." Hotaru confessed. Her Mom was among the thousands that had been missing after the quake. Swept out to sea in the undertow of the tsunami as the water had receded was the prevailing theory. "Did you…" Hotaru dropped off there not sure if it was an appropriate question to ask.

"We had a body. I know he's dead but-" Usagi cut off there as the emotions got to her again. That was probably what haunted her most about the whole thing. Her and Shingo had been separated by about a few hundred meters from what she had heard. It continued to raise the question of just how she was able to survive when her brother had died. "I am sorry I shouldn't have asked." Hotaru said after a moment.

"Don't be." Usagi assured her, adding an attempt at a smile at the smaller, slightly younger girl.

"We weren't even supposed to be there." Hotaru muttered more to herself then to Usagi. Usagi heard none the less but decided not to push it. Even if it was interesting the amount of parallels the two had. Her and Shingo wouldn't have been in a danger zone for a tsunami either except for that one day.

"Maybe you should join us for lunch one day?" Usagi suggested deciding to move the topic away from the quake for now. It had been something she had been debating for a while, inviting Hotaru to join them. She had only seen the other girl in passing for the most part since that other day. She wasn't sure how far the bullies at Mugen took things but Hotaru seemed to always be alone whenever she saw her.

"I don't want to cause trouble for anyone else." Hotaru said after a moment. She appreciated the offer, it got lonely at times, but that might just cause others to be targeted by her bullies.

"Nah it wouldn't be trouble for you to hang out with us." Usagi assured her. If she was Saturn and she was going to be awakening soon then it was probably best to start hanging out with her sooner rather then later. If she wasn't then, well, she was giving company to someone in a similar situation to hers back at Juuban at least. She knew a little too well what it was like to be socially isolated and picked on by your classmates. At least she had Naru at Juuban. She wasn't even sure if Hotaru had anyone at all though, and that wasn't a pleasant thought. She'd truly been blessed to have Naru as a friend, and even Umino, though she didn't know him nearly as well, being in different classes and not sharing anything but lunch with him as Naru had shared a club with him and he'd come to talk to her during times Usagi had cut closer to class time arriving. While Usagi and Umino weren't nearly so close, he had not avoided or ridiculed her and had even stood up for her at times. She had never seen anyone do that for Hotaru nor had she heard anyone really try to stop what was going on or being said.

"I'll think about it." Hotaru agreed after a moment. She would like company, it would be a nice change after everything. "Though I'm not sure you realize-"

"I know exactly what I'm getting into by asking you to eat lunch with us. That was me at my old school, before Mugen." Usagi pointed out.

"You were completely socially isolated by your classmates and have had things of yours destroyed by your classmates?" Hotaru asked skeptically.

"Some girls in my class seemed to take a liking to me when I first started at Juuban. They pretended to be my friend and then it all went downhill. The rest followed. Naru was my saving grace while I was there. I have no clue how I would have gotten through any of it without her." Usagi almost smiled despite her current setting, and it was clear by the gentle look in her eyes, how dearly she held her friend and by the way she spoke, the high regard said girl was held in by her.

"I'm sorry. I never would have thought." Hotaru admitted.

"It's fine. I didn't expect to see anyone else suffering like I did either." Usagi's expression became an almost smile with watery eyes for a moment.

"I should get back before Dad starts wondering where I went off too." Hotaru offered after a moment of silence.

"Yeah. See you around?" Usagi asked turning to head back to where she knew the others were.

"See you around Usagi." Hotaru softly agreed before turning a corner and disappearing.

* * *

"That took awhile." Haruka greeted as Usagi returned to the group.

"Sorry. Hotaru was also visiting. I didn't expect to run into her We talked a little." Usagi explained. "She lost someone to the Tohoku quake too..." She trailed off a bit unsure of how much would be alright to say before deciding against it.

"How far?" Haruka asked deciding to change the subject. It seemed like they had been going forever.

"Not much further." Naru assured. She remembered the first time her and Usagi had come after the funeral. It had seemed like the walk had stretched forever but after awhile you got used to it. And they would too, in time, since she doubted this would be the last time either of them tagged along with Usagi.

Eventually they came to a stop in front of simple grave, the very same Usagi had been at earlier on her own. Nothing really fancy other than a nice design surrounding the overall tomb marker. 'Shingo Tsukino, b. May 20, 2001 - d March 11, 2011. Beloved brother, friend, and son- May you rest in peace.'

The other girls kept their distance just watching over to make sure nothing happened while Usagi just spoke, they being her moral support. She refreshed the incense from earlier, adding another incense to the holder very carefully so as to keep it burning as long as possible. "Hey little brother. Hard to believe its been two years now huh? I hope you are doing okay wherever you are. Mom and Dad are doing okay for the most part. They went up home this year for the first time since the quake. I still haven't gone myself I know I should but I'm not sure if I'm ready to face it. I have a hard time just coming here at times. I know I should come and visit more often but sometimes that is easier said than done."

Usagi paused for a moment not sure how to continue at first. "I won't say its easy now, it's still hard some days. But its slowly getting easier. I got a new doctor who actually seems to know what she's doing most of the time. I finally got into Mugen Gaken. Not having to worry about Yuki and her group constantly helps a lot. I actually met a girl at school whose situation reminds me a bit of mine when I was still at Juuban. Not sure if its better or worse then how mine got at times though. Even still, I hope we can be friends. She seems really nice and sweet Shingo. You'd like her." She really hoped it was better for Hotaru than it had been for herself at Juuban. Hotaru being the kid of the headmaster probably had some natural protection that she didn't have when she was at Juuban, but then she wasn't so sure that went far either, considering what Hotaru went through. She hoped no one that went to her school was dumb enough to try and pull the kind of stunts Yuki had on her when she was still at Juuban.

"Ah Ms. Tsukino. Back to see your brother again I take it? Hope the new year is treating you better then the last." A new voice said seeming to come out of no where causing them to slightly jump. They hadn't heard anyone else coming up. But then again their thoughts had been elsewhere.

"Priest Kamada." Usagi greeted giving a strained smile. "Good to see you. Haruka, Michiru this is Priest Kamada he runs the local church. Priest Kamada, these are two new friends of mine, Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kiaoh."

"Always good to see friends supporting each other." Usagi lightly flinched. She wasn't sure if that was an intentional reference to Yuki's fit or not. She had a feeling it was. "Are you planning to come by tomorrow?"

"No sir." Usagi said.

"If you need to talk I am always open." Said the priest making this verbal offer to her, not for the first time.

"Thank you Priest Kamada." Usagi said with a respectful bow. She was less likely to talk to him about her problems than she was to her friends or say Ms. Sestuna but the offer was nice at least. He gave her a light pat on the shoulder before moving on.

For a moment Usagi looked almost like she had seen a ghost as the priest walked away. Naru frowned at her in concern. "Usagi?"

"It's nothing." Usagi said shaking her head rapidly as if to clear it after a moment. She really didn't want to talk about what she had remembered right now and especially not right where they were at.

"You look as pale as a ghost." Haruka noted frowning slightly. Something had obviously set her off even if she was trying to avoid talking about it…

"Please just drop it." Usagi got they were just concerned and if she could see herself she probably would be too. Normally remembering stuff from around the quake did shake her up some but this was a bit worse. She hadn't remembered anything particularly "new" in a while. Sure she had been kind of hoping to get answers eventually to the gap in her memory, but she hadn't expected anything today. So she was a bit shaken in a sense. "I'll be fine."

"If you need to talk." Michiru began.

Usagi forced a smile that she wasn't really feeling at the moment. "I know you guys are there to listen."

* * *

The rest of the visit had flown by once they had gone back to the grave. A couple of hours later they had been about to leave and go home when it happened. Seemingly out of thin air (which probably was the case considering who it was) Zoicite showed up.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me! Seriously?!" Haruka muttered as they spotted Zoicite floating above some graves. Usagi was inclined to share her sentiment. Were some places not sacred? The visit was hard enough without the Dark Kingdom making it even more difficult. The thought that he was here to release another 'great warrior', in all liklihood, made her cringe. The thought of having one running loose especially here... This was going to be a difficult fight. Usagi had no idea how they were going to keep the gravestones from being damaged. Maybe they could lure it out of the graveyard like they had done with a few other youma.

"Some people have no restraint." Naru muttered under her breath.

"I'm guessing someone here has a rainbow crystal." Usagi commented. "Naru you need to get out of here."

"I'll wait for you guys over at the church." Naru said waving off the concern before taking off in the direction of the building.

"Well at the very least this should give us a few minutes to find a more discrete place to transform." Michiru said.

"I don't see anyone else around but Zoicite and he doesn't seem to be paying attention to us." Usagi pointed out after a moment. They were going to have to be quick as the window in which Zoicite was destracted and not going to notice them was going to close quickly. She acted first making sure not to be loud as she uttered the transformation phrase and felt the senshi magic take hold. Haruka and Michiru followed suite quickly.

"A punching bird man." Uranus said after a moment staring at the youma that had taken the place of the priest. "How do you get that from a priest? At least Gamecren made sense since his human form was a gamer. This makes no sense."

"We can comment on how theming of the youma doesn't match up with their human personas later. Uranus go help Tuxedo Kamen keep Zoicite from getting another crystal." Moon said. She had seen Tuxedo Kamen arrive out of the corner of her eye and he was currently keeping Zoicite busy trying to get ownership of the rainbow crystal. She wasn't sure why Tuxedo Kamen had suddenly developed an interest in the Rainbow Crystals but that was a mystery for another day. Going back to Uranus' question she guessed it was possible the youma were based on what the youma had been in their previous life. Since that would make some sense. This flying bird man with punching gloves on his hands didn't make sense. But then again a lot of things about the Dark Kingdom didn't make sense when you stopped to think about it.

What happened next no one had counted on.

* * *

A fair distance from where the fighting was happening were Hotaru and her father. They were close enough that they could make out some of the sounds of battle but not close enough that they could be dragged into it. Her father said after a moment. "At least we're safe from whatever that is."

Hotaru knew better then to get involved in whatever the Senshi were fighting though…that didn't stop this pulling sensation, like a pull from her chest, towards where the sounds of battle were currently happening. She was just a random person what could she do against the strange creatures that the Senshi fought? She glanced over just in time to see a bracelet seem to materialize out of thin air seemed to hover for a brief moment before falling to the Earth.

Strange bracelets normally didn't pop out of thin air. She picked it up glancing it over. It was a fairly simple design, small light purple beads on a string surrounding a larger darker bead. She rubbed the largest bead on the bracelet. It was a darker purple then the other ones and had a white symbol engraved on it. If she remembered correctly from the various reading she had done when she was younger, it was the astrological symbol for Saturn. The bracelet felt strangely familiar and yet mysterious at the same time. She had never seen the bracelet before in her life but somehow she knew that the bracelet belonged to her and was important. How she knew that or why it was important, she wasn't sure, but she knew without doubt.

"Papa. I'm sorry. I have to do this." Hotaru said turning to her father for a moment. Do what? She wasn't entirely sure and judging by her own father's confused look he probably understood what she meant even less. Thumb running over the bead one more time, while still looking into her fathers eyes as a phrase popped into her head she spoke. "Saturn Power! Make Up!"

* * *

"Silence Glaive Surprise!" The new shout and dark purple energy ball attack seemeed to come out of nowhere and sent the trio fighting over the rainbow crystal scattering in response. Zoicite chose that moment to vanish going back to the Dark Kingdom and Tuxedo Kamen to take off with the other crystal. Well that hadn't been her intent but at least the Rainbow Crystal wasn't in the hand of one of the Dark Kingdom generals. How she even knew what a rainbow crystal was she was still trying to understand. She had actually been trying to get them to drop the crystal so Uranus could maybe pick it up. No such luck apparently.

"When did you awaken?" Uranus asked frowning looking over at the other girl as she walked up. Last they had known Saturn was still slumbering. But then again Usagi had mentioned Hotaru being at the graveyard earlier. So maybe that's what had triggered it.

"Just now." Saturn answered. "My apologies. I was trying to get them to drop the crystal not take off."

"Well, at least it's not in the hands of the Dark Kingdom. How do you even know what that was?" Uranus asked a bit surprised. Her and the others hadn't even heard of the rainbow crystals until Luna had started talking about them. Saturn had just admitted she had just awoke as a senshi so she definitely hadn't had a chance to talk with Luna. So that raised the question of how much Saturn remembered of her own Silver Alliance past.

"I don't know." Saturn admitted shaking her head as if to shake cobwebs from inside her brain. She could remember things of the Silver Alliance before she had been put into her slumber but it had been so long a lot of it was fragmented.

The other two rejoined the group in time to see them dodge the weird youma's attempt at punching the group. "How's wearing it down?" Uranus asked.

"Dimension Dance." The surprising call out of a lilac ball slamming into the youma signified that apparently Pluto was here too.

"Looks like everyone is here today." Uranus commented raising an eyebrow. Having Tuxedo Kamen show up had been a surprise in itself considering it had been awhile since they had last seen him. Then Saturn had shown up which she was pretty sure no one was expecting. And now Pluto. At this rate she wouldn't have been shocked if one of the Inner Senshi had shown up.

Pluto had a mysterious twinkle in her eyes at Usagi's expression of surprise. "Even time changes the way it flows from time to time." Pluto knew there was a long talk awaiting with Naru based on the comments she had overheard. She had come along because she had a feeling that the combined presence of Hotaru and a rainbow crystal holder together with Usagi visiting Shingo's grave for the first time in four months might be too much. If she had known Hotaru was going to also be there she might have pushed less with Usagi. The time stream's fog had only parted enough to apprase her of the situation a few hours ago so she had shown up to mainly make sure Usagi was okay depending on what exactly she remembered.

"Uranus. Hitting it isn't the problem. Making it stay still long enough to actually use the compact is the problem." Moon admitted. The thing barely stood still for more then a few seconds. As it decided to emphasise that by lunging at the group.

"We have to knock it out." Neptune said, pointing out that this youma would not be restrained as they had done previously.

"I would rather not damage the headstones! Try to avoid damaging the graves!" Moon directed. They were far enough that Shingo's grave was safe but she couldn't help but imagine each of these having someone who'd care just as deeply if there own loved ones graves were desecrated in any way.

"Understood but if hitting its head against one knocks it out we'll deal with it later." Uranus added. A combined attack with all four of them in might be enough to knock it out but if it went sliding it would probably still hit a headstone. It was just the nature of where they were fighting unfortunately.

"Moon! Can you be ready when the youma comes to a stop?" Neptune asked. Moon nodded and readied her compact while Neptune focused on keeping the youma off her specifically. Uranus turned to the newly awakened senshi Saturn. "He kid, do you think you can time your attack to go with ours?" Pluto had essentially done the same thing when they had been fighting Jadeite back at Haneda. Saturn however was a different story. No one really knew what she could do.

"I should be able to." Saturn commented back at Uranus softly. As long as she could tell when the release was about to happen she should be able to time it. Though it might lag behind the first time.

Uranus moved to power up a Spiral Buster in her hand as she looked for an opening as the others powered up there attacks around her. She seemed to see what she was looking for. "Now!" Four balls of gold, fushia, dark purple, and blue slammed into the youma sending it briefly flying through the air before it hit the ground hard and skidded. The youma finally came to a stop hitting it's head on a tomb stone.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Moon, ready for her cue, wasted no time in pointing the mirror in the direction of the unconscious youma. Moon relaxed after a moment as the youma quickly reverted back to Priest Kamada. That had been one of the easier healings she had done. Though she wasn't sure if that was because the youma was knocked out or because it had been hit several times before she had got the chance to heal it or both.

"I'll see you later this week." Pluto said to Sailor Moon after a moment before taking off for parts unknown.

"I need to get back to my Dad. He's probably wondering what's going on and why I took off like that." Saturn said after a moment.

"Hold on, we need contact information." Moon said stopping her before she could take off. That and someone needed to explain to Hotaru how to dehenshin. "Hotaru right?"

Saturn blinked a couple of times in surprise. "How did you know?"

"We had our suspicions beforehand." Neptune answered the question. "So considering Moon had said she ran into you earlier as Hotaru. When you showed up as Saturn it was what made the most sense."

"Ran into…" Saturn began a bit in confusion. The only other person she had talked to at the cemetery before she had transformed was, "Usagi?!"

"Not so loud please." Moon confirmed. Hopefully no one had over heard that last part. Or if they had it wouldn't make sense to them.

"Right sorry." Saturn said after a moment. The whole secret identity thing felt both old and new at the same time and it kind of confused her.

"That's my cell." Moon said handing over a piece of paper to Saturn. "Give me a text when its convenient and will set up a get together time. I share an apartment with these two so it might be easier for you to come to our place then the other way around."

"That definitely sounds like it." Saturn agreed. That would be a first. She wasn't sure if she had ever been invited to someone else's house. It would be a nice change from the norm.

* * *

Naru had gotten her Mom to agree to let her stay over for the weekend so the two were crashing in Usagi's room after having gotten back from the graveyard. Usagi was being a bit quieter normal and was definitely more exhausted. But that wasn't too abnormal for the aftermath of visiting the graveyard.

"I thought you didn't remember any of it?" Michiru asked taking a seat next to her on the couch. Usagi had opened up a bit when pressured slightly about what had caused her to pale back at the graveyard before the youma. Apparently she had been remembering something from the day of the actual quake.

"I don't I've only had flashes at best." Usagi admitted softly shaking her head. "When I'm really tired and I can't filter it I can hear the crunching of metal and the screams as the tsunami comes inland. But that was the most I remembered of it. Until today at least."

"Usagi are you sure your not crossing it with something earlier?" Naru asked with a bit of hesitation. She understood why her friend wanted to remember the events around the quake but part of her was wondering if one, she could really handle it when push came to shove, and two, if she wasn't just having wishful thinking?

"What other time would we have been walking along the seawall that early in the day?" Usagi asked raising an eyebrow. Normally her and Shingo would have been in class but for some reason they had been told to go home.

"True." Naru agreed with some reluctance. That had been earlier in the day for the two to be going home then normal.

"Shingo and I used to walk home from school along a seawall we had in our town. Sometimes he would try to balance himself by walking on the very top of it." Usagi said a sad smile wiping an absent tear from her cheek that had fallen. Answering a question she knew the other two had to have. "We were taking our usual route apparently when the quake struck." Part of her wished she could go back in time and warn her younger self. To take the long way home or to not leave the safety of the school grounds. Maybe even if she had done one thing differently Shingo would be still here laughingly teasing her about something. Or talking up the latest super sendai show he had gotten into. "I just want to see him again. To tell him how much I care and how much it hurts that he's no longer around. How much I miss him. I just want to be able to hold him one last time." Usagi confessed as the tears really started to roll.

Michiru being the closest was the one to initiate the hug drawing her in though the others quickly joined. Usagi found herself relaxing a bit as the tears slowed slightly and she found herself starting to drift off slightly. A thought passed through her mind. Things might never be alright, she just couldn't see things ever getting anywhere really back to the way they were for her before the quake. As long as she had the others to rely on she felt that maybe with time they would become mostly, or at least as right as they could be in a world without her little brother in it.

End Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this week. Next update will be on the 20th.
> 
> Small preview for 19 to bide you over:
> 
> "Where did you get this?" Luna asked one afternoon a couple of days after Usagi had discovered her and Hotaru were in the same program. The mail had just arrived to the apartment and they were quickly going through it when a flyer that had been sent to Michiru by the looks of it caught her eye. She assumed it was part of the large amount of junk mail that had been dropped off but best to ask.
> 
> "Came in the mail. I paint on the side. It's more of a hobby when compared to performing in the classical arts. So it's not that uncommon for me to get flyers to other galleries." Michriu explained.
> 
> Usagi frowned slightly tilting her head trying to see what had got Luna's attention so much. It took a minute but as she stared at it more she kind of realized one of the buildings in the painting that was being advertised kind of looked like the Moon Palace. It could be just a wild coincidence though as time went by she was starting to doubt that happened anymore. Which would make this the first real lead they had about the Moon Kingdom (well first real lead that didn't tie back to Luna).
> 
> "What's got you two so interested?" Haruka asked. If it was just Usagi she would have been she may have thought it was just an interest in the painting maybe. But since it was Luna and Usagi it suggested something else. Most likely something senshi related if it was getting Luna's attention. But what was another matter.
> 
> "How much do you two remember of the Moon Palace?" Usagi finally asked. They hadn't really talked a ton about their lives before the current day outside of a few notable conversations. She knew that she had the strongest memories of it even if they still weren't all there just because she had lived there. However she didn't know how often the other two had come to the Moon during the days of Silver Alliance so she didn't know if they remembered what the palace looked like.
> 
> See ya on the 20th!


	19. Getting a Better Picture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone welcome to Chapter 19!
> 
> Not much to really say. Thanks again for the reviews/comments.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing the chapter.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 19

Getting a Better Picture

"Hotaru!" Usagi greeted in surprise one afternoon a couple of days later. She was currently waiting for Yui to come get her for the program when she had run into Hotaru in the waiting room. "I didn't know you were a participant too."

"Yeah. Actually, I usually come in on a different day. I was having some issues so they had me come in today. And even if I did come in on a normal day my injuries aren't the most pleasant to look at…" Hotaru trailed off for a moment. "Most of the time what we are doing is back in a more private area. I guess I need to tell you all eventually about why I'm doing this." Hotaru realized frowning slightly. She had a feeling that she would only be able to hide this for so long even if she was careful…

"Your dreading that aren't you." Usagi guessed. It hadn't been that long ago when she had been in the same shoes.

"I've just never had anyone react in a manner that wasn't disgust or pity before. We have to work together so I guess I'm just worried if they know that every time I see them it will be the same reaction." Hotaru admitted.

"Hotaru I hid my prosthetics from Haruka and Michiru. I was stupid. They will handle it a lot better then you think they will." Usagi said.

"They really didn't react with disgust or mean comments?" Hotaru asked a bit doubtful a tad bit of hope leaking into her tone. Very few people that weren't medically inclined or fellow members of the programmed had reacted positively to her condition. But in spite of that she couldn't help but hope maybe this time the reactions would be different. Even if the odds seemed stacked against it.

"No, just startled and disappointed I didn't trust them enough to tell them before." Usagi assured remembering Haruka's reaction in particular. Michiru had never voiced any disappointment but she wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't been a bit disappointed at her difficulty in trusting them at the time.

"I'm still not sure…" Hotaru admitted with some hesitation looking down at her hands for a moment other incidents with her classmates flashing before her. She herself hated looking at the implants at times she couldn't imagine anyone that wasn't used to seeing them not reacting unpleasantly. No matter what Usagi said.

"What happened anyway? If you don't want to talk about it…" Usagi said backtracking almost as soon as she asked for fear of having crossed a line. Sometimes talking about the cause of the injuries was the hardest thing to do.

Hotaru shook her head after a moment, "No. It's fine. I was in a bad fire when I was younger, when I was six. Nearly killed my Mom and I the first time. I survived but with some rather bad burns and some unique looking implants. My appearance tends to draw some attention if I don't keep my skin covered." Actually now that she was thinking about it she was surprised that none of it had shown when she had first henshined as Saturn…. but then Sailor Moon's legs didn't exactly reflect reality either. Hotaru had gotten off better in the recovery, but that was probably because she was young. Her Mom had always seemed sickly and fragile after the fire.

She was brought out of her thoughts just as a familiar (to her at least) brunette came out from the back. Taking a short bow in front of the two, "I am so sorry for keeping you waiting Ms. Tomoe. We are ready for you now."

"It's fine Emi, this was an unexpected visit anyway. I'll see you around school Usagi." Hotaru said giving Usagi a friendly wave before following the girl into the back.

* * *

"Where did you get this?" Luna asked one afternoon a couple of days after Usagi had discovered her and Hotaru were in the same program. The mail had just arrived to the apartment and they were quickly going through it when a flyer that had been sent to Michiru by the looks of it caught her eye. She assumed it was part of the large amount of junk mail that had been dropped off but best to ask.

"Came in the mail. I paint on the side. It's more of a hobby when compared to performing in the classical arts. So it's not that uncommon for me to get flyers to other galleries." Michriu explained.

Usagi frowned slightly tilting her head trying to see what had got Luna's attention so much. It took a minute but as she stared at it more she kind of realized one of the buildings in the painting that was being advertised kind of looked like the Moon Palace. It could be just a wild coincidence though as time went by she was starting to doubt that happened anymore. Which would make this the first real lead they had about the Moon Kingdom (well first real lead that didn't tie back to Luna).

"What's got you two so interested?" Haruka asked. If it was just Usagi she would have been she may have thought it was just an interest in the painting maybe. But since it was Luna and Usagi it suggested something else. Most likely something senshi related if it was getting Luna's attention. But what was another matter.

"How much do you two remember of the Moon Palace?" Usagi finally asked. They hadn't really talked a ton about their lives before the current day outside of a few notable conversations. She knew that she had the strongest memories of it even if they still weren't all there just because she had lived there. However she didn't know how often the other two had come to the Moon during the days of Silver Alliance so she didn't know if they remembered what the palace looked like.

"I don't really remember any details about it." Haruka said exchanging a glance with Michiru.

"Its kind of jumbled but a good portion of what we do remember of the Silver Millennium took place on our own home planets. We do have some other memories. Like when we first became Uranus and Neptune. But as is we don't have a ton of memories of the Moon Palace." Michiru admitted. They did have memories of the Moon Kingdom, that was how they had recognized Usagi initially after all. But they didn't have a ton. At least in her case, a good portion of her memories she had regained so far were from the pre Senshi days for some reason. She wasn't sure if that was because there wasn't much to remember from her time at the outpost or what the story was. Hopefully once they got the Ginzishou and it restored everyone's memories they would have some answers.

"It's just this building here looks a lot like what I remember the Moon Palace looking like." Usagi said pointing at the white building in the background of the two figures. It may be a weird coincidence, she always thought the building looked kind of Taj Mahal-ish but that didn't look like the Moon exactly hanging in the background behind the figures.

"Seriously?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow. "How does some random artist remember the Moon Palace in that much detail but Michiru and I are only capable of remembering bits and pieces."

"That's what I'm trying to understand." Luna admitted after a moment. "Best explanation is that she was someone high up in the Lunar court. Since to be able to remember these kind of angles she would have had some fairly regular access to the Moon Kingdom." Initially she had thought that it would be only possible for the senshi and the former Terran prince of their time to remember their time in the Silver Millennium. Then possibly the generals when the idea of being able to bring them back the Dark Kingdom had first started to come into fruition. Her and Artemis remembered just because they actually were remnants from the Silver Millennium. They hadn't been reborn but put into a deep sleep after the fall of the Moon Kingdom. Unfortunately that much time in hibernation had left them with giant holes in their memory. So it made sense that they remembered some things about the Moon Kingdom. Someone who appeared to be a random civilian? Not so much. Like everything else lately that idea seemed to have been turned on its head.

"That still doesn't explain why we remember less about what the palace looked like then this woman did though." Michiru pointed out. It made no sense, their duties meant they should be able to remember more details about the old Moon Palace. But the palace in the painting on the flyer had more details (like the dome for one, she hadn't remembered that it had a dome) then either her or Haruka remembered. She thought initially it was because of the fact that their memories were coming back slowly. But this suggested their might be something else going on.

"I understand that unfortunately there is no easy answer to what your question is though." Luna said after a moment. "I may need to try and get in and see these for myself.

"If you can keep quiet we might be able to sneak you in a bag." Usagi suggested to Luna. Though that still left the problem of Luna being able to actually see the painting.

"No. I probably would be able to sneak in on my own. You would be surprised how easy it is to go unnoticed when I want to." Luna said shaking her head. Humans weren't always as good at paying attention to their surroundings as they pretended to be.

* * *

"Picked up anything useful Luna?" Usagi asked Luna a couple of days later at the gallery. They had gone by to see if the pictures were indeed of the Moon Kingdom and if it could jog any memories. No luck outside of Usagi and Luna now being sure that the paintings were of the Moon Palace and not of somewhere on Earth.

"Nothing we didn't know already." Luna agreed after a moment sighing slightly tail swishing slightly in agitation. She had been hoping their might be some answers to her questions here. However so far nothing. Seeing the paintings wasn't doing much good in anything other then raising the question of who the painter had been during the Silver Alliance, which was something they would only be able to ask if they were able to talk to the woman herself. From what they had heard she very rarely made public appearances. That complicated things.

Any further conversation was cut off by a new woman walking up to them. Nothing overly remarkable about her. Brown hair in a ponytail with glasses and if she hadn't been looking right at Usagi she might have missed the woman entirely. "Um, hi." Usagi said a bit hesitantly. Why was she staring. She glanced down for a moment thinking maybe her legs had gotten exposed somehow. But no they were still covered.

"Please, I need a reference model for some of my work. Your perfect." The lady said finally speaking up.

"I really don't do modeling." Usagi said. Not sure how to take this sudden request. What was with people wanting to getting her to model. First the swimsuit contest Luna had tried to make her enter, now this lady?

"You wouldn't be modeling really not at least in the traditional sense. I just would need you to sit down at my place while I do some reference schetches. Please. Its just one afternoon." The lady pleaded.

"I guess one afternoon wouldn't hurt." Usagi conceded caving in with noticeable hesitation. It didn't sound like a traditional modeling job at least. If she got to stay in her normal clothes she was fine with it. She frowned slightly seeing Luna seeming to tense against her leg. What got Luna worked up this time? This should be a good thing. If they could see the woman's studio they might be able to figure out where the idea for the paintings were coming from.

* * *

Luna frowned, this could be a good or bad situation. Or both. The dark energy signature she had picked up when Usagi had been talking to the painter indicated that she was most likely one of the slumbering Great Warriors.

That wasn't to be expected she knew she would be running into each of the members eventually. That was catching her off guard. It was the fact that in order to have memories to make these paintings whoever this woman had been in the Silver Millennium had to have been fairly close to the royal family. At least a member of the minor court even if still low ranking. That would suggest they somehow had had an enemy in their midst for quite awhile before the fall of the Moon Kingdom. This raised the question, just how much had they been paying attention? Considering the court's members and their aptitudes, someone should have picked up on the fact another member of the court had been turned. At the very least Mars should have been able too. She herself was pretty sure that if someone had turned into a Great Warrior Youma she would have remembered that- yet she didn't.

She shook her head after a moment. As confusing as it was, this wasn't her biggest concern. Her biggest concern was the fact that for some reason she had detected Great Warrior energy from someone that wanted to get Usagi alone. This could work either in their favor or against them. For now she needed to talk to Haruka and Michiru.

* * *

 

Thankfully Haruka and Michiru were in a quieter part of the gallery so she could talk with them without drawing too much attention. "I thought you were sticking with Usagi." Michiru said seeing the cat walk up. They had separated from the rest of the group to try and see if any of the other paintings could jog their own memories since they didn't remember much of the Moon Palace.

"I was but the painter was busy trying to talk Usagi into modeling for her so I let her be for a moment." Luna said. She wasn't sure if she wanted to draw attention to the fact the painter was a Great Warrior Youma quiet yet. "Anything of note you two were able to find?"

"We were just taking a closer look at this painting. That's us isn't it?" Michiru asked indicating the painting she had found them in front of. Luna frowned walking closer to get a better look. Upon a closer look she realized they were right, that definitely was Haruka and Michiru in their past lives. In their princess dresses if Luna remembered correctly. Well if that was Haruka and Michiru good chance that was one of the outer planets' palaces. Though which one it was she wasn't sure. However, what probably surprised Luna more was the third outline. That looked distinctly like Usagi, or if her line of thinking was correct, Serenity. That definitely wasn't the Moon. What in the world was she doing on another planet interacting with another court? Serenity had been too young to really be involved in politics outside of observation prior to the fall of the Silver Alliance.

"That is definitely your past selves." Luna answered. Though why Usagi was present in the painting raised another question. With the current train of thought that Usagi was Serenity she couldn't think of a reason for Usagi having been on the outer planets.

"Something a matter?" Michiru asked noting the look on Luna's face. Something was obviously bothering her.

"An incomplete memory with too many things that do not make sense." Luna admitted after a moment. "It would have been dangerous for her to travel to the Outer Rim so I'm a bit lost as to the presence of what maybe Serenity. This would most likely be at Miranda, the main palace of Uranus, or Triton Neptune's main palace. As far as I remember this should be completely unheard of. The younger senshi didn't travel, still being in training within there own courts and the lunar court itself, to other courts. The princess herself would have still been held back until she was a few years older than she was before the fall before being allowed to travel. If anything you two would have been going to her not the other way around. I just cannot figure out why she's at one of the outer planets castles." Luna shook her head before getting back on topic to the reason she came to them to begin with. "Do you think one of you could convince the artist to let you come if Usagi models?"

"Usagi agreed to that?" Haruka asked in surprise. It didn't seem like a thing Usagi would particularly enjoy.

"She asked her to be a reference. Said she was exactly what she was looking for for some of her paintings. And if she has fragmented memories of the Moon then that's probably true." Luna admitted. "Usagi really didn't seem to overly enthusiastic about it but seemed to be slowly giving in when I left the two of them."

"It wouldn't exactly be easy. I think theres a handful of people that actually know where she lives that aren't family." Michiru admitted. Though the fact that Luna and Usagi had apparently actually met the painter would simplify things. Meant they weren't going to have to convince a third person at least.

"That complicates things." Luna said more to herself then to them.

"Why do you want one of us to come along anyway? She's just a painter with memories of the Moon for some reason... right?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm concerned that she may be a Great Warrior. If she is one we can't let the chance to get a rainbow crystal slip through our cracks. However…" Luna trailed off their.

"Leaving Usagi alone with an enemy isn't a good idea." Haruka supplemented.

"I'll see what I can do." Michiru agreed.

* * *

"Thanks for letting me bring a friend." Usagi called as her and Michiru entered the house that was owned by Yumemi, the painter. She had been a bit reluctant to okay having a friend come along, but eventually in the end had agreed if it meant Usagi would agree to be a reference for her paintings.

"Your Michiru Kaioh. You didn't mention one of your friends is a painter." Yumeno said hesitating a bit catching her first glimpse of Michiru. She hadn't known that Usagi was friends with any other painters. And Michiru's reputation kind of preceded her as a painter of high quality work.

"I asked to be the one to come when I heard who she was referencing for. I am a fan of your work." Seemed Yumemi's reputation definitely wasn't a lie judging by how nervous she had just gotten once she had seen Michiru. Though what she had said wasn't a lie either. She had been impressed with the painting Luna had found her and Haruka looking at earlier and was planning to buy it to hang back in the apartment. Even if parts of the painting didn't make sense to them. "I'm actually curious about some of your other work so I was hoping to see what you were using Usagi as a reference for."

Yumeno hesitated. "It's still in its rough sketch stages…"

"I am not here to critique and you don't need to show me at all if you don't want." Michiru assured her.

Yumemi hesitated for a moment more. "All right just keep in mind there's still a lot of work to be done." She led her into another room with various canvases in various states of being finished. "This is the one I'm currently working on and why I needed your friend." Yumemi said handing over a canvas which was in the rough sketch drawings phase of being painted on. "I wish I could figure out where it was I'm painting at times. Having real world references would help. But some of it seems almost alien, as silly as it sounds."

"I believe you." Michiru said shaking her head. Once upon a time it would have sounded silly. But after nearly seven months being Sailor Neptune not everything sounded as weird as it once had when she was starting out. Something still did sound strange at times but other things had begun to normalize just from her senshi status. Examining it she wasn't entirely sure what it was a painting of other then being of some event during the Silver Alliance. No senshi were in the picture just a girl in a dress that she suspected was who Usagi was providing a reference for and a boy in knight armor seeming to be ready to do battle against some unseen army with the Moon Palace cracking in the background. Something felt off about it but she couldn't put her finger on what and it wasn't just the lack of senshi if her suspicions were correct that this was from the night the Moon Kingdom had fallen taking the Silver Alliance with it.

"Do you recognize it?" Yumemi asked a bit hopefully. Maybe she had just been researching in the wrong places….

"I'm afraid not." Michiru admitted passing the canvas back. It was much easier to lie and say she had no clue what Yunenj was painting then trying to explain an ancient alien civilization. Let alone a lost fallen one that had vanished over a couple of millennium ago.

"Worth a shot at least." Yumemi said letting out a sigh. It would have been nice to identify and maybe do research on what she kept painting but it seemed like she hit a dead end every time she tried to look.

"Eh you paint the senshi?" came Usagi's surprised call. That caught Michiru's attention. There hadn't been any paintings of the senshi at the gallery. But if this woman was painting the Silver Alliance it would make sense that she would have some paintings with the senshi in them.

"Yeah every once and a while I get an idea for a painting involving them. No Sailor Moon though. She's never there when I get these ideas. Though I guess the girl in the white dress kind of looks like her." Yumemi admitted coming up behind Usagi and taking the canvas that she was holding.

This one looked like it was in the Moon Palace's throne room. Besides her and Haruka the other prominent figure in the painting was a silver haired woman that probably was Queen Serenity. Though she could see towards the background of the painting she could see the girl in the white dress, who she had a feeling was actually Serenity. If that was the case the resemblance between Serenity and Usagi was uncanny and this was before Yumemi had been able to talk Usagi into being a reference too. Even in painting there was a noticeable similarity. Judging by the fact it was her and Haruka in senshi garb kneeling in what was probably the throne room for the Moon Palace which probably meant it was early in their days as Senshi. Possibly the day they had become Uranus and Neptune during the Silver Alliance would be her guess. Their trips to the Moon Palace had been few and far between from what she could remember. If they were in full senshi garb then that was the most likely answer to the question.

"-know. I've always gotten strange ideas for paintings and artwork. I've never understood where they come from. I wish I could understand these painting. They feel so real, like more than paintings." Yumemi said sighing as Michiru turned her ear back to the conversation. She could understand the other woman's woes but she really did think Yumemi not knowing the full details was probably better for her then knowing them.

"Hopefully, someday you'll get your answers." Usagi encouraged.

"Hopefully." Yumemi agreed. Though at this rate she wasn't overly hopeful. She had been seeing flashes of the strange kingdom since she was a child. Art had always been an outlet to it but she never could understand why she was seeing it. At this point she didn't have high hopes that she would understand the visions any time soon if at all.

"Anyways what do you need me to do as the reference?" Usagi asked deciding to change the subject back to why she actually was here. Well that and the rainbow crystal situation. She still wasn't sure how they were going to handle that…

"Just take a seat on the couch. As long as I get some reference sketches down that should be good enough to work off of for some of the paintings." Yumemi said indicating the couch in the living room area. Hopefully an afternoon would be enough time to get everything she wanted.

* * *

"Sorry there was nothing to exactly identify who she was in the Moon Kingdom Luna. She doesn't seem to remember who she was or even that a Moon Kingdom existed." Michiru said shaking her head. They had just left Yumemi's house and had met up with Haruka and Luna. Michiru had poked around a little checking out what paintings Yumemi had out in the open but there had been nothing really to suggest what connection she actually had with the Moon Kingdom. And since Yumemi didn't remember much about the Moon Kingdom herself they knew as much about her role leaving as they did going in there.

Luna sighed. "It was worth a shot at least. Still wondering why she is remembering the Moon Kingdom…" This was going to bug her for a while she could tell…

"We have bigger problems for now. What are we going to do about her rainbow crystal?" Usagi asked after a moment. Yeah figuring out who Yumemi was would be nice. But it kind of fell low on priorities of things at the moment. Figuring out Yumemi could come later. Considering Zoicite seemed to show up pretty soon after they ran into another Great Warrior Youma host she was wondering how much longer it would be until he showed up at Yumemi's.

Luna frowned. "I'm not sure. I would rather not wait until Zoicite shows up the next time to take her crystal. Since that risks losing another rainbow crystal to him. But I'm not necessarily sure how to rectify the situation."

"We don't necessarily have to wait until whenever Zoicite shows up. The mirror should be able to heal her and give us the rainbow crystal without having to get Zoicite involved right Luna?" Usagi asked looking at the cat.

"Technically yes." Luna agreed a bit reluctantly. She wasn't sure if this was the best plan to go forward considering she had no clue how much effort it would take for Usagi to extract a rainbow crystal. But on paper it was, by far, the best plan.

"Yeah and the last time you used the compact for healing you knocked yourself out for two days." Haruka scowled apparently agreeing with Luna on the idea that this might be a bit too much for Usagi to handle at the moment. She got they needed the rainbow crystal. They were 0 for 2 with the other two currently. But was Usagi knocking herself out again worth it?

"I'll be alright. I might be a bit more tired then normal but I shouldn't be nearly as bad as last time." Usagi insisted.

"Maybe we should call Hotaru or Sestuna?" Michiru suggested after a moment. Deciding to ignore Usagi's insentience that she was fine and her annoyed huff at the suggestion. She agreed with Haruka that the idea of Usagi having to do an extraction with someone at full health probably wasn't the best idea. But…waiting for her to become a youma meant involving Zoicite and that just screamed of that being an even worse idea. If they had one of the others then it wouldn't be her and Haruka sharing energy with Usagi. In theory the more energy Usagi received the less the spell would tire her out. In theory at least.

Usagi hesitated for a moment she didn't want to get anyone else involved really but the other two weren't letting her get away with that. "Sestuna's probably the better of the two to get involved. Hotaru's great but she's still pretty new at this so Sestuna probably would have an easier idea of what to do and how to help then Hotaru. I think her office is closed by now so that shouldn't be a problem…" Usagi said trailing off pulling out her phone to text Sestuna. She wasn't a hundred percent sure though. "I'll text her to ask. And if she says no for whatever reason there still is Hotaru I guess."

* * *

"Can I help you?" Yumemi asked glancing between the four senshi at her doorway in confusion. When she had gone to answer the door she thought it was probably Usagi or Michiru having left something accidentally. Instead she had found herself with four Sailor Senshi. Not that she was complaining seeing them might come in handy. But why would they want to talk to her.

"This is a conversation best not held within public earshot." Pluto chose to answer for the group at the moment. "Could we please come inside?"

"Uh yeah sure." Yumemi said backing up to allow the four senshi in. "So what is it I can help you with. Since I'm guessing you don't normally make house calls."

"At the moment we are in competition with the Dark Kingdom to collect a group of crystals that are stored within a small group of humans. We recently discovered your the holder of one of them." Luna answered.

"But I don't own any crystals." Yumemi said in confusion. If she had any she would have been willing to hand it over to help them. But as far as she remembered she didn't really own any crystal.

"It wouldn't be something you normally would own. You were actually born with crystals inside of you." Moon explained repeating what she remembered Luna saying at some point.

"Wouldn't something like that show up on a medical scan?" Yumemi said frowning slightly.

"Luna? Pluto?" Moon said turning to the others for that question. Figuring that one of them would have to have the answer to that question. That was a very good question honestly. Wouldn't a crystal a size of your first show up on a medical scan normally?

"It's not exactly physical in the normal sense. It can only materialize when it reacts to certain magic such as Sailor Moon's healing magic." Pluto said taking over in response.

"Wouldn't that be painful?" Yumeni asked frowning slightly.

"It might be. It's impossible to say how the person going through the crystal will feel since we've never had a chance to ask before." Pluto answered truthfully. "However if we leave you be, eventually our enemy will come knocking and I can guarantee that will almost certainly be painful."

"So better to take care of it now then." Yumemi realized. "Well if this is the best solution to it then I'm okay with it. Can I ask one favor though?"

"Depends on what it is." Neptune answered. She had a feeling she knew what it was. And if it was Uranus would probably be complaining afterwards but it wasn't

"Could you three please stay after for a bit so I can get some sketches?" Yumemi asked making a motion at Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. "I would ask you too Sailor Moon but I never seem to have any paintings that need you. At least not so far." Unknowingly echoing what she had told them earlier that day.

"That shouldn't be a problem for us as long as it doesn't drag out too long." Neptune said speaking for her and Uranus. "What about you Pluto?"

"I certainly have some time I can spare." Pluto agreed. Partly she was staying because she was curious what in the world the woman had come up with that involved her. Back when the Silver Alliance had still been alive and well she had spent most of her time at the Gates of Time. And there really wasn't much to be drawn there.

"Just stand still actually. Our part is the more difficult part. It should be over pretty quickly." Moon instructed. This might end up being one of her easier healings. She waited until she was sure the other three had physical contact with her like the time they had healed Masato before opening the mirror. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

At first it seemed like nothing happened. And then after a minute a greenish glow enveloped Yumemi growing brighter the longer the spell happened. Then finally there was a popping noise and a green colored crystal seemed to materialize out of thin air flying in their direction. Pluto let go just in time to catch it as Moon ended the spell.

"How are you feeling Sailor Moon?" Luna asked coming up to her now that she was sure she wouldn't somehow cause interference in the girl's task.

"A bit tired but other then that I feel fine." Moon admitted. She had actually been feeling the effects of casting the spell when it was ongoing more then she was feeling it now for some reason. She had expected that to be more difficult so it had been a pleasant surprise. "What about you Yumemi?"

"I feel fine. Better actually." Yumemi admitted. It was almost a like weight had been lifted off of her that she had never known she had been carrying as odd as it seemed."That's what you were after?" Yumemi said coming up closer to Pluto out of curiosity. That sure didn't look like something that something like the Dark Kingdom she had heard reports on would be going after. It looked so plain.

"It's importance isn't so much what it is now but what it will become." Luna explained. Once they got all seven of them they would become the Ginzishou. Right now for them at least as individual items they were useless to them. "Now don't we have other business to take care of?"

"Ah right the sketches." Yumemi clapped her hands. Being so caught up with everything else she had nearly forgot about it. "Lets move to the studio room I keep most of my work in. There's a couch you can get comfortable on while I work."

* * *

Usagi had been a bit surprised when Hotaru had asked her to come over to her house a day later. Asking her to come alone. She had a feeling she knew what the girl wanted to talk about if she was getting specific. And if it was it probably was a good sign since it meant Hotaru was considering what she had told her briefly back in the waiting room.

"I was thinking about what you said the other day. How you said that they would probably take it okay. I am still reluctant though I was hoping to maybe show you first. You know them better than I do so if you think they will think I'm a freak or something you'll tell me right?" Hotaru said as she let Usagi into her bedroom. "I would have asked for you to come on one of the days the program is giving me a check up but the program's pretty picky about who they let back in the exam room. Good chance they wouldn't have let you back there." Hotaru explained. "Here there's no one to stop me from showing you."

"Must be some cutting edge stuff." Usagi noted. To keep the people who knew about it down to such a small number must mean that they didn't want details leaking out by accident.

"It is." Hotaru said hesitating for a moment as she gripped the shirt she was wearing. She needed to do this, the others were going to have to know eventually. Hotaru though, still hated showing this to anyone. "I wear long sleeves to make sure no one can see them." Hotaru admitted as she took off the shirt so Usagi could clearly see her own prosthetics. Shifting a bit uncomfortably since even with the undershirt on she felt a bit naked. She wasn't used to anyone that wasn't family or in the program knowing about this. Well technically Usagi was in the program, however, not a lot of people knew just how she was involved so that was different. "My legs are also like this though the implants don't go nearly as far up."

"They're a form of prosthetics right?" Usagi asked leaning in a bit closer out of curiosity. These were beyond anything Usagi could ever remember seeing. She could kind of see why Hotaru was concerned. It was a bit unnerving at first since it almost looked like you were looking directly at a person's muscle and bone system (or rather muscle and wires in Hotaru's case).

"Correct, though they're a bit different then your conventional prosthetic since they're integrated to my body. Even for the program this is all new. I still don't understand how half of it works. " Hotaru admitted quietly.

"It's almost like a transplant." Usagi noted. That wasn't quiet right either considering what she could see around the elbows. The only transplants she knew of were human to human. And this was human to some sort of mechanical device she guessed. Still it looked more natural then most prosthetics. Except for the odd spots around the joints. "Must have been some fire." Usagi said more to herself then to Hotaru.

"It was huge. It completely destroyed the old school building and our old house." Hotaru said after a moment. Mugen Gaken had been a lot smaller back then. Before it had started picking up the traction it had now. Her father had taken the chance the fire had presented to rebuild the school even better then how it was before. "They actually do act like transplants in a way. I have to take immuno-suppressants so my body doesn't start rejecting it. Papa's hoping at some point that they'll be able to get the tech to the point where the body just integrate it like its a natural part. I think this is what the end game of the program were in is anyway. Its not to that point yet. For now I'm stuck with my arm looking like this."

"Your father is the one that gave you the transplants?" Usagi asked frowning slightly. She understood wanting to save a family member and doing what you could. But that seemed like a conflict of interest if she had ever heard of one if he was still in the program.

"No. He was part of the program but he had to step down from it when he signed off to have Mother and I treated with it. It was one of his colleagues that performed the procedure." Hotaru explained.

"Do you resent it at all?" Usagi asked.

"Sometimes." Hotaru admitted. "Don't tell him please. It's hard when I look at them everyday. The other girls in my class don't make it easier even if only a couple ever actually saw." The way Hotaru saw it, the only good thing about this when she was feeling resentful of it, was the fact her mother had a little longer to live, a little longer alive.

"So are they permanent? I mean okay maybe permanent isn't the right word since they seem to be fully integrated with you. Its just most kids have to get prosthetics replaced every so often because of growth. Is that similar here or do they grow with you?" Usagi asked.

"Every two years I have to go back for surgery to get them replaced." Hotaru explained. Part of her wondered what would happen once she stopped growing. Would she stop having surgeries or if the limbs started causing issues again would she have to go under to get them replaced.

"You do realize your going to have to tell them that before you go under again?" Usagi pointed out. No way was Hotaru being out of commission not draw some attention.

"I know." Hotaru said. Part of her wanted to just hide it until she went through the next update no matter how impossible that was. She had seen the most recent model they were working on. It was supposed to only show the muscles and wire when it was on a certain setting. Meaning it would look like a real body part. Too bad she hadn't gotten those before she had become Saturn.

"I handled it fine. They handled mine. I think things will be alright." Usagi pointed out seeming to sense Hotaru was still hesitating on telling the others.

"Yeah but your also used to seeing prosthetics and probably spent the most time in a hospital outside of myself." Hotaru pointed out.

"That is true." Usagi agreed after a moment. "Look I can't tell you the full story since I was out cold when it happened. Mom said when they first found out they were more confused. I can't say for sure if it will be a repeat scenario but so far every time I've been worried about something with those two they've surprised me in a good way."

"As it is they never seem quite sure how to handle my presence the two times I've come over." Hotaru noted frowning slightly.

"That's probably due to your other job though." Usagi pointed out shaking her head slightly. "Something about you being the senshi of death and ruin-"

"Rebirth" Hotaru corrected.

Usagi blinked a few times in surprise. "Death and rebirth?"

Hotaru nodded. "The ruin part of my title was always a misnomer. I'm not sure how I know about it or how even the misinformation got started. Saturn was never the senshi of death and ruin but the senshi of death and rebirth."

"That actually makes a lot more sense when you stop to think about it." Usagi said more to herself then to Hotaru tucking away the information to bring up with Luna. Now she was wondering how Luna had gotten started on the later title. Maybe the ruin part had gotten tacked on by someone who didn't know better and thought it fit? She shook her head after a moment. "Back to my point. I think they're a bit set off more due to your senshi powers then anything else. Give them a bit and probably it will be an afterthought to them."

* * *

While Usagi was dealing with Hotaru Luna was dealing with issues of her own. Particularly the continuing conflicting information that she remembered from the moon Kingdom. First there had been the Masato and Naru situation which contradicted the idea that Queen Serenity had gone ahead with bonding him to Jupiter. Then there was this woman who for all intents and purposes appeared to have been a part of the Lunar court, judging by some of the work Luna had been able to glimpse. She had been led to believe that all the Great Warrior Youma were all Terrans back in the days of the Silver Millennium. So either there had been a Terran in the Lunar court, or she had been lied to about the planetary alignment of all the former Great Warrior Youmas. Either way, both suggestions unsettled her enough that she had questions. So Luna decided to go to the only person who might be able to answer them, Sestuna.

"Luna I must admit some surprise." Sestuna said glancing down at the Mauan as she approached. She was just getting home from work so she guessed the Mauan must have followed She really hadn't interacted with the cat much ever. Other then a few brief conversations when Usagi had been seeing her. So the fact that Luna had approached her alone was interesting enough.

"I apologize for showing up unannounced, however I have some questions. Based on recent events, I believe your probably the only one that could possibly answer them." Luna explained.

"All right. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to answer them but I can try." Sestuna consented letting Luna into her apartment. Considering recent events she was pretty sure what Luna was about to ask about. If that was the case she probably wouldn't be able to answer the Mauan's questions. It just wasn't matter of her remembering the proper events, she did. As things stood and were supposed to progress to tell her the truth would be in direct contradiction to what Luna was supposed to eventually remember. Maybe if things changed she would be able to answer them in the future but for now she would be unable to do so, so as to protect the timestream.

"There's two things I want to ask about, one is about Masato and Naru. And the other is about the painter we got the rainbow crystal from." Luna explained pausing for a moment. "I am wondering if it was possible that Masato and Naru's past selves had a soul bond with each other."

"What makes you think its a soul bond to begin with and not a different type of bond?" Sestuna asked.

"Naru was able to help resurface his true memories. Only certain bonds are capable of pulling that off. While Naru herself isn't remembering anything of the Terran Kingdom, the fact that it was her that started the turn of Masato is significant. Him encountering Endymion may be another possible trigger, but that's a guardian bond and less of a guarantee." Luna said.

"And of course soul bonds are rumored to be able to transcend time and space." Sestuna concluded. It was a rumor she had heard a lot during the Silver Millennium.

Luna nodded her head. Sestuna sighed. "I wouldn't know. It may have been sheer coincidence or there might have been an existing soul bond." Part of that was a lie, the rest was truth. Setsuna hated the lie but the truth, as things were, may never be able to be told. If she did, her bonded, the consequences. She could say nothing. Sometimes she hated being the time senshi.

Luna's ears drooped slightly in disappointment. So much for hope about having answers to that question. "Now what was it you wanted to ask about the painter?" Sestuna said deciding to redirect to the other question Luna had.

"I was always under the impression that the Great Warrior Youmas were Terrans." Luna said.

She couldn't answer about Masato but this should be safe. Plus as things progressed Luna was more likely to realize that was a lie even without her true memories. "That was false. There leader Gamecren was Terran, the other six were not."

"Why would someone abandon the Lunar court to join the Dark Kingdom?" Luna said to herself frowning slightly. That seemed almost like a 180 from there previous position.

"Some may have been brainwashed others may have joined willingly. You and I both know that the time prior to the fall was a bit uneasy." Sestuna reminded her. That was at least something she was pretty sure Luna would remember. Though she may not remember the exact specifics that had lead to the unease within the Silver Alliance.

"That is true. Thank you for your time Sestuna. I think I have all the answers I can get today." Luna decided. She needed time to herself to think. The idea that the Great Warrior Youmas were now confirmed as non-Terrans with one exception.

"I'm sorry I couldn't answer your questions better." Sestuna said as she walked back to the front door to let Luna out.

"It's fine. Hopefully someday I'll be able to make heads and tails of this." Luna said more to herself then to Sestuna as she went out the front door.

' _I'm sorry Luna. If I told you now you would never believe me.'_ Sestuna thought to herself as she watched the Mauan go. Maybe in time she could tell the Mauan the truth, about why she was told one thing but remembered another. For now, some things were best left buried. Maybe when Usagi got her Ginzishou again there was a chance that she would be able to explain to her all the little things that didn't add up, however, a lot of things would have to go right for that to happen. Setsuna wasn't sure if that would happen. Such a future may be too much for her to hope for.

* * *

P _rincess Serenity was on a mission._

_"This is such a bad idea." Venus muttered to herself as she followed Serenity through a back gate to the castle grounds. Waving off the guards on duty. Hopefully they wouldn't let slip just who they had seen slip though the castle gates. She would rather not get an earful the minute they returned._

_"I used to do this all the time back on the Outer Rim Venus. Used to drive Rhode and Theia nuts before they figured out where I was going and when I usually left. It will be fine." Serenity said giving her a reassuring smile. "There can't be anything worse here than I saw back in Neptune's capital."_

_"That is probably true." Venus agreed with some reluctance. "It's just after everything the last few years. Having you walk around out in the open in public makes me and the others uneasy." It had been a long difficult time putting down the rebellion. Years in fact. It would take time for them to be more at ease with the Royal Family when outside the castle grounds._

_"I get it but as things are this is still the best way to see how people are really fairing and how to make the best decisions. Not through the daily complaint filing." Serenity said shaking her head slightly._

_"The Queen seems perfectly happy to just make her decisions from the throne room without seeing her people." Venus pointed out. Though really this shouldn't have surprised her. Serenity used to disappear at all sort of hours without much warning and without accompaniment in the early days of her stay on the Outer Rim. It had gotten better once the older Senshi had eventually managed to convince her that it wasn't smart to wander around the streets of Neptune's capital without protection. Since while the threat to the royal family may have been contained to the Inner Rim it still wasn't smart for her to be walking around without protection._

_"Yes, well, Mother doesn't seem to have the best decision making." Serenity pointed out. She had never seen her mother leave the castle grounds for as long as she could remember._

_Venus made a face at that. While that was true from what she had witnessed at times. "Your really not supposed to say that Reni." Falling back on her childhood nickname. Probably for the best, calling attention to the fact that Serenity was outside the castle grounds might not be safe._

_"Doesn't make it any less true. If you don't know your people you can't know how to make the right decisions. If I don't mingle then how can I prevent a repeat rebellion, the very reason I was sent away in the first place, if I don't know my people are happy?" Serenity pointed out._

_"Just try not to leave the castle in the future without one of us first." Venus said finally caving. Serenity had a point the best way to make sure there was never a repeat incident was to make sure people were actually happy. There was no way she could know that for sure without wandering the streets on occasion. Sure you could come to the castle if you had a complaint but just how many actually did that? "I don't want to face your mother's wrath if you get injured."_

_Serenity snorted slightly at that. "Probably wouldn't get much of a reaction. Mother doesn't care, not really. All she cares about is that I marry some prince and produce the next heir."_

_"You can't really think that?" Venus asked raising an eyebrow._

_"Venus. How many times growing up did she actually spend time with us and the others? I think I saw your mother more then I did my own." Serenity pointed out._

_Venus cringed at that. "Okay that is true." The Queen's distant behaviour towards her daughter had always struck her as a bit odd. "But I really don't want to face Uranus and Neptune's wrath if they find out you got injured on my watch."_

_"I can understand that." Serenity agreed after a moment. And with everything else they would know and might react before Venus and the others had a chance to explain what had happened. Like it or not Venus was right that she needed accompaniment when wandering outside the castle._

Usagi's eyes flew open as she gasped in the darkness of her room.

Usagi rolled over out of bed and switched her lamp, having woken up from her dream, from her newest memory as Princess Serenity. She grabbed the journal she kept inside her nightstand. Since they had started hunting for the rainbow crystals she seemed to be remembering more and more of the Moon Kingdom. So she had gotten a small journal to try and log what she was dreaming. The important stuff at least. In an effort to try and make more sense of them. Not that it had done much good so far. A lot of it were randomly scribbled words with question marks next to them. But tonight's dream made a bit more sense at least.

It was the first time in a while that she had gotten names for the other Senshi. Judging by the conversation she suspected one was Michiru's past self and the other Haruka's. Something just didn't seem to fit about those names going to Hotaru or Setsuna. She would have to do some research in the morning.

Usagi briefly wondered if she would ever fully get everyone's full names. So far she had Venus, Uranus, and Neptune's real names and she thought she might have heard Mars' a few times but that was before she had started logging the information. It had taken her this long just to get this much. Though judging by her own behavior and knowledge that was for a reason. It seemed like there was a good chance that, in uniform, even in the pre secret identities days one simply referred to the Senshi by their titles. Not by their formal names. Thus why it probably had taken so long to get actual names for Uranus and Neptune's past selves... Or at least she assumed that was their past selves.

However, probably the most interesting thing had been what Venus had mentioned in passing briefly, a rebellion. There had been rebellion involving the Inner planets. She couldn't remember Luna ever mentioning a rebellion but who knew if that was because Luna was withholding information or like a lot of other things she had simply forgot.

"Your up late." Luna noted padding quietly into the bedroom. She had been out when Usagi had woken up.

"Just woke up from a dream." Usagi explained stowing the journal back. "Luna do you ever remember there being a rebellion when the others and I would have been growing up?"

Luna sat down on her haunches frowning slightly. "I don't remember one but with everything else I've forgotten, I wouldn't be shocked if its just something alluding me." Though this was something rather major to be forgetting. "You were talking about a rebellion with someone?"

Usagi nodded her head. "I was telling Venus, 'how can I prevent another rebellion if I don't know my people'?"

"Strange." Luna muttered to herself. How could she forget a rebellion? "Are you sure it wasn't from before you were born?"

"Maybe, but I was also talking about having snuck out of the castle on the Outer Rim…" Usagi said with some reluctance.

"And you wouldn't normally have been living on the Outer Rim." Luna agreed. That certainly suggested there had been some forgotten events, a possible rebellion at the very least, for Serenity to have ended up there. It was further supported by that painting from the other day. That had to have been Serenity on the painting. But to forget a rebellion of all things... "A few months ago I would have said 'no', but after everything else I'm not so sure anymore." Luna admitted with some reluctance. "Let me talk to Artemis and see if he remembers something."

End Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week. Next update is on the 3rd!
> 
> As always please leave a review or a comment. Sometimes they help me realize something I missed. And I don't mean like typos I mean scenes or reactions. So they really do come in handy at times.
> 
> And that's a wrap for this week. See everyone on the 3rd for 20!


	20. More then Meets the Eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone welcome to this week's chapter!
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.

Chapter 20

More Then Meets The Eye

"A rebellion?" Artemis asked in surprise. Luna had reached out to him about Usagi's most recent memories at first chance. "Are you sure?" He asked a bit doubtfully. "I mean, I know things weren't the easiest right before the fall but a full on rebellion?"

Luna let out a sigh. "I don't remember it myself, though it would explain why she was on the Outer Rim." Luna added. "We were investigating a lead that turned out to be one of the Great Warrior Youma, a former painter from the Moon. There was a painting with Haruka and Michiru's past selves along with Serenity. All of them were in formal princess attire in one of the capital cities for what I am sure was one of the outer planets." Luna explained seeing the look Artemis was giving her.

"Are we sure it wasn't some court visit?" Artemis asked a bit skeptically. Admittedly Serenity wouldn't have done that very often, if at all, in peace time.

"I would have thought so but the thing is…she knew Haruka and Michiru's past selves names. If what we remembered was accurate then she wouldn't have had enough contact with them to be close enough to be privy to that knowledge Artemis." Luna pointed out. What her and Artemis remembered was Serenity having limited contact with Uranus and Neptune outside of a few necessary duties. Nothing where she would have been close enough to call them by name. If she had only gone for court related duties she would never have had a chance to get nearly that close to them. Something was up.

Artemis let out a frustrated sigh. "Are we sure that she wasn't referring to their mothers?" Serenity would still have had only limited contact with the Queens of Uranus and Neptune at that point in her life. But she would have had more then the amount she had had with the princesses. Regular contact, or as regular as it had been at times with the Outer planets, wouldn't have come until they moved off active duty. So not until Serenity was well into her reign.

"She called them Rhode and Theia. She was talking about them. There hadn't been a Queen Rhode or a Queen Theia in generations on either planet." Luna pointed out. It was true that sometimes family just named the next in line after the previous in the line. Serenity herself was an example of that having been named after her mother. However, Rhode's mother was Queen Amphitrite and Theia's mother had been Queen Phoebe if she wasn't mistaken. Serenity had been referring to the princesses not the queens.

"How did that painter have access to them anyway?" Artemis asked more to himself. Thoughts turning back to Luna's comment about their being a painting of Serenity on the Outer Rim. He thought the youma were all Terran. If that were the case they shouldn't have had access to that kind of moment to paint. Terrans very rarely had left their home world outside of formal events. And even on those rare occasions it had been mostly the Moon. He couldn't remember anytime they had gone all the way out to the Outer Rim.

"I talked to Pluto about that. She said only one of the Great Warriors was actually Terran. Meaning the painter was probably Lunarian, Venetian, or Neptunian." Luna admitted with some reluctance. Lunarian would have been her first pick since this was part of the Lunar court. But some of the more talented painters had come from either Venus or Neptune. So there was a good chance she came from either of those planets.

"That's not what we were told." Artemis noted. Everything they remembered being told was they were Terrans who had gone to the Dark Kingdom seeking power. This had a possibility of changing a lot of things.

"It's not. No." Luna agreed admitting with some hesitation. "I've been wondering for a while just how much Queen Serenity hid from us." Luna admitted after a moment with some reluctance. She thought she had been one of the Queens confidants and was told most things. Now, however, she was questioning just how well she used to know the Queen. As more and more came out that she either didn't remember or remembered differently in the case of the generals she started to doubt how close she had been to the Queen.

"It will get easier once the Ginzishou is restored. That should return everyone's, including ours, memories." Artemis tried to reassure her. Hopefully ending the confusing thing with not everything adding up. Though who knew, it could get worse.

"Hopefully." Luna agreed. She wasn't so optimistic on the chances of that.

"How's Nephrite settling in? I'd imagine it's difficult after so long as part of the Dark Kingdom." Artemis asked deciding to change subjects for the moment. They wouldn't be able to make much progress with the strange questions raised by recent events, at least not now.

"Surprisingly well, considering. I'm not sure how much he remembers of his pre-Beryl life back during the days before the fall of the Silver Alliance." Luna admitted. Probably having a civilian identity for Masato had made the adjustment from Dark Kingdom general to full time millionaire businessmen easier. "He's powerless at the moment. Any abilities of his from before he became a Dark Kingdom general haven't resurfaced so he's laying low at the moment. Though I think the Dark Kingdom is too busy with trying to gather the crystals to try to find out what happened to him."

Luna and Artemis sat in silence for a moment, from their respective locations, over the video call. "Will you be alright? Do you want me to come?" Artemis broke the silence between them. This was the first time they had been separated at this time of year. Sure, Luna could fend for herself but that didn't stop him from worrying.

"Venus needs you more than I do. It's not the first time we've been separated." Luna said shaking her head slightly. "I just have to be careful when out on patrol."

"I would rather you didn't patrol." Artemis mumbled more to himself then to Luna. Seeing the look she shot him he added. "I know, I know. With everything else going on its too risky for you not to go on patrol. Just my two cents." Artemis assured her. As much as he hated it, it was unrealistic and dangerous to not be looking for new threats. Luna could take care of herself. He just was worried.

"It's just one week. I'll be fine Artemis. You'll be here this time next year." Luna said giving him a reassuring smile. By this time next year, the Dark Kingdom should be history long past. And hopefully everyone would have settled into a more normal life.

* * *

"Luna? Are you all right?" Usagi asked a few days later from where she'd been reading a manga on her bed. Luna had been in a mood the last few days and she'd just sighed for the fourth time within the same minute. The last time they had gone out in public together they had seemed to attract the attention of every single cat in the Triangle area as well, which worried Usagi as well. Luna's solution to the matter seemed to have been to try and ignore them but she could clearly tell that the attention was annoying her.

"It's nothing." Luna dismissed.

"Really?" Usagi asked skeptically. It hadn't really seemed like nothing the last time they were out. Maybe she was reading too much into it?

Finally after a couple minutes of Usagi starring skeptically at Luna and Luna attempting to ignore her, she finally sighed and offered a grudging reasoning in a soft but tired voice that didn't seem to fit as she starred out into an unseen distance. "There isn't anything you can do. It will go away in a week. I would rather not have to say anything else about it."

"Oh." Usagi said. "Would being in one of your other forms maybe make it more comfortable?"

Luna shook her head. "No, nothing to do but ride it out and try to stay away from any of the local cats for the next week. The only person who could maybe actually help isn't here and can't be."

"Oh." Usagi said not entirely sure how to respond. "Is there any way to fix that easily?"

"No. We're stuck in it for the moment. Having him here would present its own form of dangers. It's best he remains where he is." Luna said shaking her head slightly. Would she like Artemis here? Definitely. Was it realistic to pull him away from England for a week because of personal issues? No. It was just one week. She could live with it.

* * *

Despite Luna's reassurances that she was fine and that she could handle herself just fine she did stick closer to the girls' apartment then usual for the next couple of days. Hightailing it out of there at any sign of Terran creature pursuit. In so doing Luna nearly missed an encounter with a race she hadn't considered. During the Silver Millennium they too lived on earth and she hadn't thought to find them still. Still, she knew that this was no Terran house cat when she came across a rather large light blue cat one day towards the end of a patrol. No native cats on earth that she knew of at least came in that shade of blue which left one explanation.

"A Teuan." she muttered more to herself in amazement. While there had been a few Maus that had scattered throughout the solar system after they had invented space travel most had remained on their home world. There had been a rather large colony that had chosen to settle on Earth and the surrounding planets in the early days of the Silver Alliance. Commonly referred to as Teuans they were more a distant cousin of what her and Artemis were then actual Mauans. Still, technically, they all descended from the same genetic line from Mauans, simply having diverged their own way after living on earth for so long.

" _A Mauan. Must admit I don't think any of us ever thought we would see any of you here after the fall of the Silver Alliance."_  Came the response. Distinctly male. Crap. Not what she needed right now.

She began to back a few steps. She knew what affect her cycle would have back home on other Mauan but Teuans was unknown territory for her. She backed up a couple of steps. " _Calm down. I already have a mate. You sure are jumpy for a Mauan_." He said in what she imagined was supposed to be a reassuring voice.

"You try running from various Terran creatures for the last three days and see how jumpy you are." was Luna's response but she did finally relax now that she knew he wasn't a threat. Still best to be on alert but at least he wouldn't cause her trouble.

" _Point taken. Names Hercules. Yours?_ " He offered. Now that she was calming down some she realized he was speaking in his form's language and not English fascinating. Maybe the Teuans had lost the gift of tongues over time?

"Luna. What's with the choice in languages?" She said tilting her head slightly. Mauans had the ability of the tongues and could speak just about any language as long as they could transform into that form but this one was staying to Terran cat despite clearly understanding English.

" _We lost the ability to speak anything out of our body's natural language a long time ago._ " He explained.

"But you understand me just fine." She said tilting her head in confusion. Normally to talk with other Terran animals she would have to switch to their native tongues for her to be understood. But while Hercules was speaking Terran cat she was still speaking English and being understood by the Teuan perfectly.

" _Just because I can't speak it doesn't mean I can't understand it. We lost the part of the gift that we no longer needed. Seeing as understanding languages is still useful we retained that part of the gift._ " He explained.

"Oh. That makes sense." Luna said blinking a few times. There was a slight pause before she spoke a question that had popped into her head. "So how many of there are you?" She really didn't need to know she was just being curious. She honestly hadn't really entertained the idea that there might be some real Teuans still around all these centuries later. Most cats she saw may have had Teuan some point in their history but it was too diluted to have retained any of the gifts Mauans had.

" _I live with my mate and four kits in my owner's place not too far from here. There's a good pack of around 20 of us adults that live around here. I don't know how many of there are of us in total here in Tokyo. It's always hard to tell when you run into others if you are dealing with a typical Terran creature or another Teuan unless they say they are one or give a direct indicator._ " he said.

"True enough. If it weren't for your coat being lighter than the normal shades that you see on Terran house cat I wouldn't have probably noticed, you were a Teuan." she admitted.

" _Yeah, that kind of makes me stand out like a sore thumb. Rare genetic anomaly at this point that it decided it wanted to show up again. Thankfully most of my kits take after their mother coat wise make it easier if the owner wants to adopt them out once they are old enough to leave._ " He said, seeming genuinely relieved.

"I don't think most humans would know the difference or truly care. The only reason I picked up on you because I know enough about your kind to recognize a supposed member." she said.

" _True enough. Most don't give me a second glance."_ He admitted after a slight pause he continued. _"So, what are you doing out in public so much right now anyway? Usually you guys prefer to hole yourselves up when you go through this from what I understand. Or at least take a different form that makes you less of a target. You might still get attention as a human, but it would probably be a lot less than the ones you're getting from the Terran cats._ "

"I'm only out because I have other responsibilities to attend to that simply don't stop because of bodily functions." Luna said. She would rather be sleeping back at the apartment until the week was out. But the Dark Kingdom was still around so that made it impossible.

" _And the other thing? You Mauans can take form into anything you want why not just shift forms if you have to be out in public so much?_ " He asked.

"Because this is my preferred form and my other predominant form that I am better at shifting into are beginning to be associated with the Sailor Senshi." Luna said. Truth be told she had never been a skilled shifter to begin with. Her best forms being a cat and a humanoid that she took the most often. "Can your kind still detect negative energy?" Luna asked deciding to change the subject. Mauans were born with the ability naturally, so Teuans had probably had it at some point, whether or not they still had it was another matter. If they still could she might have found an unexpected assist in finding the remaining rainbow crystal holders.

He shook his head before saying, " _Most of us can't. Every once and a while we will get someone born with what we now call 'The Sight'. It's a rare gift now a days. We haven't needed it in so long. As far as I know no one in my pack has it. Why?_ "

She cocked her head slightly before replying. "Surely you haven't missed all the strange monster sightings lately?"

" _Of course not_." Came the reply. Between Jadeite and everything else even they couldn't miss it.

"One Mauan can only do so much. I wasn't sure if it was still common or not and the help would have been welcome." Luna said wearily. It was moments like this that made her miss having Artemis around, so she was less of a one man army at times.

" _As I said, those with that ability are pretty rare nowadays. I don't think any of them live anywhere near here."_  Hercules reiterated.

She sighed, well it had been worth a shot. "Well, it was worth a shot. Thanks for the information. If it's not too much trouble, if you see a ponytailed blond hair guy chasing someone around let me know? We are trying to keep a step ahead of him and any information would be appreciated. I live on top of the jewelry shop not too far from here." Luna offered.

" _I'll keep an eye out for anything odd._ " Hercules agreed.

"Thank you. Now if you would excuse me, if I don't get back soon my owner will freak." Luna said with an almost smile.

" _Your human knows what you are._ " He said in surprise.

"Not by choice. Circumstances forced me coming out to her about my true nature. It has come in handy on more than one occasion despite the lack of choice." Luna said.

" _Must have been some pretty interesting circumstances._ " He said in a manner that said he was warring with himself on what to think about that. A human worth knowing such a secret.

"You don't know the half of it." Luna said turning to take her leave.

" _Are you going to be fine getting back on your own? I could walk you there if you want._ " Hercules offered, clearly not wanting to leave her to be harassed on her own, especially with how jumpy she'd been.

"I appreciate the offer, but I can get a few blocks on my own just fine. Terran animals, while annoying, are small in comparison to what I have dealt with in the last couple of months." Luna turned about to leave before having second thoughts. "Actually, I change my mind. If you run into Zoicite you need to know how to find me. You don't mind tagging along?"

" _Nah. My mate's not expecting me back quite yet. Lead the way._ " Hercules assured her as Luna started walking back in the direction of the apartment.

* * *

"Um hello." Usagi greeted as she glanced down in confusion a day or so after Luna had met Hercules. A rather large pale blue cat was looking up at her and no other humans in sight. She had a feeling he was here for a reason but she had no clue what that reason was.

"He's here to see me." Luna said coming up behind them.

"Why are you talking to another cat?" Usagi asked curiously. With how jumpy Luna had been the last few days the last thing she would have thought of was her inviting a strange cat into the house.

"Long story. I asked him to be on the lookout for possible Dark Kingdom sightings." Luna explained. "It's all right to let him in."

Usagi frowned but opened the door to let Hercules slip in. "Why would you ask another random cat to be looking out for the Dark Kingdom?"

"I ran into him on rounds the other night. He's from a distantly related branch of my kind so I asked if he caught wind of Zoicite to come to me." Luna explained.

"You'll be okay by yourself?" Usagi asked hesitating a bit. Luna could handle herself she was pretty sure, but she was still worried.

"I'll be fine. If I need you I'll yell." Luna assured her.

"All right, fine, I'll leave you two to whatever you have to discuss. Yell if you need something." Usagi said turning to head back to her room. If Luna really felt comfortable enough to have him around she wasn't going to question her decision ultimately.

Luna turned her attention back to Hercules. "So, you had a run in with the Dark Kingdom I take it?"

" _Unfortunately, yes. The pony tailed guy you mentioned before showed up earlier today without much warning. He first targeted our owner. And then when he wasn't satisfied with her for some reason turned his attention to me._ " He said.

That caused Luna to frown. She guessed that Zoicite had gone after his owner because he suspected that the owner was a rainbow crystal holder. If that hadn't worked to turn to Hercules was an interesting choice. Partly because she had assumed that all the rainbow crystal holders were humans. She hadn't considered the possibility of the fact that a rainbow crystal might be held in one. And with all her senses being off right now she had completely missed the fact that he did have a slight dark energy signature that she had come to associate with the Great Warrior Youmas. "He didn't get whatever he wanted I'm assuming?" She wasn't sure why she was checking. If Zoicite had got a crystal they wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Hercules would be in full on youma form.

" _No, he got swarmed by some rats before he could follow through with whatever he was planning._ " Hercules said.

"Rats? Why would rats be swarming Zoicite?" Luna mused for a moment. That was an odd event….

Hercules shrugged. He hadn't understood why it had happened, but he wasn't going to question the semantics of his escape route. " _So, what now?_ "

"I'm not sure…" Luna said after a moment. Normally she would have just done what they did with Yumemi and have her heal Hercules, so they could get the rainbow crystal. However… it hadn't really been that long since Usagi had gotten the green rainbow crystal from Yumemi. She was a bit concerned that having to do two higher level extractions might knock her out in the same manner that healing Masato had. Like it or not, extracting a crystal from someone who hadn't been worn down by fighting was a lot harder than if they had already been fighting. However, for that to happen would risk losing a second rainbow crystal to Zoicite and put Hercules at risk as well. It technically shouldn't be a big deal to have the crystal extracted since Usagi had more training and had been barely phased by it the last time, but she couldn't help but be a bit concerned on the subject… "I need to talk to Usagi first how we go forward depends on how she feels she can handle the situation." The only person, in the end, who knew if she could handle the task so close together was Usagi herself. It was best to leave the decision on how to proceed in her hands.

* * *

"This is Hercules. It turns out that he is the holder of one of the rainbow crystals." Luna said introducing Hercules to the girls in the living room a few minutes later. Or rather reintroducing in the case of Usagi.

Usagi looked over at the newly identified Hercules and then back to Luna and then back to Hercules. "I thought you said all the rainbow crystal holders were human?"

"That's what I thought." Luna shook her head before continuing. "Turns out I was wrong." She really hadn't counted on the crystal holders being reborn as anything other than human. With everything else that had happened recently maybe she shouldn't have been surprised. This really had thrown her for a loop. Then again finding out the rainbow crystal holders weren't all Terran had been a shock in itself at first. So this was just another thing to the list of unexpected surprises. "Zoicite showed up targeting his owner under the false assumption that she was the crystal holder. When he realized that he had the wrong target he turned on Hercules but was stopped by a swarm of rats."

"That's weird." Haruka said making a face. Why would a swarm of rats go after a Dark Kingdom general? Ah well not her problem.

"So we're thinking doing the same thing we did with Yumemi to get the crystal?" Usagi asked.

"That would be the ideal situation." Luna agreed with some hesitation. She wasn't sure how big of a fan of an idea she was of having Usagi outright heal Hercules. It removed a lot of the danger element of having the Great Warrior Youmas fighting in public, but how much could Usagi handle before she wore herself thin? Healing spells weren't without there drawbacks.

" _What's the hesitation?_ " Hercules asked noticing how Luna had hesitated and the other two girls seemed a bit less then enthusiastic about the idea.

"The concern is Usagi's still learning how to control the output of energy in her healing spell. Removing a rainbow crystal isn't the easiest task." Luna explained. Usagi was getting better, or at least she hoped Usagi was, and the time at the painters had barely taken much out of her. But she wasn't sure if that was just luck or how having a cat host would change the situation.

"I'll be fine Luna." Usagi insisted softly to the Mauan, offering a gentle smile. "Last time barely phased me." Well maybe she had been a bit tired, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when she had tried to heal Masato and she didn't want anyone to worry. She would be alright.

"How much of that was because it was easy to heal Yumemi and how much of that was because you got an energy assist from us?" Haruka questioned under her breath. Sure Usagi had appeared fine since then but knowing Usagi's ability and tendency to hide things there was a concern that that she had had been effected and decided not to tell anyone.

"Regardless, we're calling all hands-on deck. I am not going to have you wear yourself thin." Luna said finally putting her foot down. She didn't care if she was over reacting. She'd rather be safe than sorry. Usagi had come out of the Yumemi healing a bit tired but otherwise fine. Considering how close these two were on top of each other she was concerned that it might exhaust Usagi more. Thus, why Luna was insisting this time that they not only have Sestuna on board for this but Hotaru. They had four senshi who could help Usagi power her magic might as well use them.

* * *

"There might be a problem." Hotaru admitted with some hesitation after a moment when Usagi called her. "It's Papa. He's not overly enthusiastic about this whole situation. I figure you might have the best idea on how to convince him that I'm needed."

"Luna will probably be better at this conversation." Usagi noted looking back at the cat who looked over from a conversation with Hercules. "She's the one that did most of the explaining to my parents."

* * *

"Dr. Tomoe, your daughter is the only person who is capable of being Sailor Saturn. If it was safe enough for the girls never to awaken as Sailor Senshi I would have been happy to let them sleep. If they do not save this world from the unsealed Dark Kingdom of ages past there will be no world left for them to have remained dormant living within. To let them sleep would mean their deaths at this point and as much as I hate it, they must do their duties as Sailor Senshi. In Sailor Saturn's, Hotaru's, case I didn't even awaken her. She felt it from deep within her and the part of her that never forgot she was a Senshi chose to awaken out of a duty and desire." Luna took a breath after having said her piece and watched the distraught man across from her seem to struggle to breath at what she had said.

"How can anyone be okay with this?" Dr. Tomoe said from his place sitting in a chair within his living room chair looking a bit lost. His baby was a sailor senshi and from the sound of it, they were born not chosen, and hell bound towards a life he'd never have chosen for his beloved daughter. His firefly.

"Here." Usagi said holding out a piece of paper with a number scrawled on it. "That's my parents phone number." Usagi explained as he took the phone number looking a bit confused. "They are aware of the situation and my status as Sailor Moon. Have known since day one. If you want to talk to someone else who is in your shoes. They're the best to do so with."

"They know and are okay with it?" Dr. Tomoe asked raising an eyebrow in surprise. He couldn't think of any good parents that would be aware and okay of their daughter being in constant danger.

"I'm not sure 'okay' is the right word. They seem to have accepted it at least and support me. I am fairly sure my dad would rip apart the Dark Kingdom himself if he could, if it could make this unnecessary. My mother... she is strong, but I know she would do the same. She is the strongest of us." Usagi admitted softly. Her mind going back to the long conversation between Luna and her parents to make them understand just how necessary it was for her to be Sailor Moon. Why picking someone else wasn't a choice because it wasn't about picking and choosing. She was born to be Sailor Moon and was thus, the only one.

"I'm not sure how well they'll understand. I already lost Keiko. I nearly lost Hotaru when she was younger. I can't lose anyone else." Tomoe said running a hand through his hair near hysterics and sounding like a man about to shed tears out of frustration and anger and maybe a bit of sorrow and helplessness. Losing Keiko had been devastating, and now the idea that Hotaru could be constantly in danger.

"Hotaru's not the only sailor senshi whose lost family." Usagi said giving him a grim smile. "I lost my little brother in the Tohoku quake, I nearly died myself. My parents have gotten even more over protective since then. More than you probably realize they'll understand."

"My apologies." Dr. Tomoe said after a moment. He knew Usagi was a Tohoku survivor. He had pulled the school files on the individual senshi once he knew his daughter was working with the moment he found out anyone's identities outside of being senshi. He hadn't realized that she had lost family. He glanced down at the phone number again. "I'll give them a call."

* * *

"I'm not sure 'okay' is the right word." Ikuko said unknowingly repeating her daughter's words from earlier as she set a cup of tea in front of Dr. Tomoe before taking a seat next to Kenji. "We accepted it because Luna seemed to desperately need her and there is, apparently, nothing we can do to stop it, but the idea of having her constantly in danger is terrifying. It's hard. Especially with her living away from us now, like we're losing her and helpless to watch as she goes off leaving us to wonder if one day, we'll be burying her beside her brother. Sometimes I wonder if we would even know, if we'd even have a body to bury. At least before she moved out with Michiru and Haruka we could keep an eye on her and make sure she was okay because she came home to us. Now that she's living with her other senshi its not as easy. Though at least those two can protect and keep an eye on her."

"After losing Keiko…" Dr. Tomoe looked utterly defeated. "She's all I have now. How can anyone handle this?"

"With difficulty." Ikuko admitted. She was looking forward to the day that Sailor Moon was no longer needed. She longed for a day Usagi would not be out at all hours fighting evil and would be truly safe from the possibility of simply never coming home or ending up in a body bag. The entire experience was terrifying, and she could understand Doctor Tomoe's fears well. They were well grounded fears and ones she herself felt daily. Not a moment went by that didn't remind her that her daughter could be killed or worse in the fight against the evils that were, supposedly, Sailor Moon's responsibility to fight, protect people from, and ultimately vanquish.

"What about the others? Those two aren't orphans last I checked." Dr. Tomoe asked addressing the elephant in the room so to speak. The lack of appearance of either Haruka and Michiru's parents. He knew there was a fourth member but from what had been mentioned it sounded like she was old enough, as an adult, to decide and also that her parents were long dead. He imagined even dead there spirits looking on at their daughter wanting her safe. Perhaps they might even be proud of her, however no parent wants there child in danger of joining them too soon, at least he could not imagine so. Even if there absence was understandable he could not imagine that her parents would like this situation any more than he did.

"From what we're lead to believe the relationship between their families and themselves are strained." Kenji answered. "Haruka has had no contact with her family since she came out to them as preferring women and Michiru's family barely tolerates her even peripherally. They allow her to get away with openly seeing Haruka because they believe Haruka passes for a man well enough they are easily passed off as a traditional couple. From what we've been told, the only family member on Michiru's side who knows she is a senshi is her older sister, Mamiko, who acts as a liaison between the Sailor Senshi and the government here in Japan."

"No matter how strained the relationship, I would think they would still want to know there daughters are in danger and support them at the very least." Dr. Tomoe frowned in thought. To not know your children were risking their lives on a regular basis.

"It might seem so, to us, but its their decision to tell their families. You found out about it because you said Hotaru transformed in front of you. The others didn't have that happen. Usagi had hers triggered inside the privacy of her bedroom. She chose to share it with us because she knew she couldn't hide it and well…" Ikuko frowned for a moment in thought. "Actually, we're not entirely sure where the other two triggered there's. Luna admitted later on she didn't want them advertising their identities and had not originally wanted us to be told about Usagi. It is my understanding that it is a danger to the girls that we even know and that we are a liability that can be used to draw a connection between Sailor Moon and Usagi. While I am grateful that we know where she is and what she is doing, the fact we could be used against her makes me wonder if I am selfish to be glad that I at least know even if I cannot stop her from being Sailor Moon."

"Wouldn't finding out there civilian identities are the senshi they are require they already know who they are and thus about there families?" Dr. Tomoe asked. If you knew who the senshi were you knew who their families were. And if you knew that someone in a family was a senshi you probably realized who they were anyway.

"True." Ikuko agreed. "I think she was just trying to look out for everyone involved. Luna is many things but as we've seen over the time knowing her, she has good intentions and our daughters safety at heart despite the task she has been given in awakening them. The fact some awaken even without her is only confirmation of what Luna herself says, that she does not and cannot dictate who the senshi are, only awaken and help guide them. She trains them well because she wants to survive. I think that while she is not perfect, she seems to be good at her job and care about the safety of the girls even doing such duty that has fallen upon our children enough to trust her."

* * *

"So why are you asking for my help today but not back when you got the crystal from the painter?" Hotaru asked frowning slightly an hour or so later after her and Sestuna had shown up. She got she was new to the job, but it felt odd that she got left out for one thing and included for another.

"This is a bit more difficult then what we dealt with the painter. Usagi's now having to do two back to back full-strength healing spells the one today and the one she did last week. Usagi can handle one definitely but we worry a second one so close after the first may be too much for her despite what she says. As for not asking for your help, Hotaru you are just starting out. It's not so much we don't think you are a help as much as it is the fact that your still growing adjusted to drawing on your core. You've been doing it for a couple of weeks in training. The others have been doing it for months in real time." Luna reminded her. It was nothing against the newest member of the group it had just made more sense the last time to leave her out of it. Left unsaid was the fact the senshi and Luna were trying to spare the youngest senshi as much as possible. Eventually Saturn would be as good as the others at drawing from her core, however, that was something that required more practice then she currently had, and Luna wasn't sure if her age wouldn't slow it down with her still growing and developing. Saturn was still a child after all, even younger than Usagi, who had been the youngest until Hotaru had awakened. Considering Saturn's progress, she was fairly certain that the girl could provide more help then she would have been able to the week before, could, but... Luna was loath that she'd have to.

"So, it's because I'm inexperienced?" Hotaru asked. "Wouldn't having me there given me more experience?"

"Not necessarily considering how quick it went." Luna said. This time was probably going to be a bit more drawn out because she doubted that Usagi wasn't still a bit drained from healing Yumemi. No matter how much the girl tried to deny it. "Anyways we should probably refocus on the task at hand since I doubt Hercules wants to go home in the dark."

A quick henshin later and the girls were in position. Uranus and Neptune took her arms like last time. With Pluto and Saturn deciding to go behind her and take a shoulder so it was easier for everyone to stand together. She made sure she could feel the others energy coming in and mixing with her own before she opened up the compact and saying. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

It was similar to when they had retrieved the crystal from Yumemi, a glow began to surround Hercules as the spell took effect. It didn't take long for anyone to notice that this seemed to be taking more effort and a level of exhaustion was already setting in on Sailor Moon.

To Sailor Moon, this was kind of strange, she hadn't really felt tired when she had been healing Yumemi so why was she feeling the effects of powering the spell this time? A question for another time she guessed. Even if she had to sleep for a couple of days it was best to get the crystal.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to everyone involved though it probably hadn't been more than five minutes a violet crystal appeared in front of Hercules, seemingly out of nowhere like Yumemi's green crystal, and went flying towards the senshi.

Sailor Pluto caught the flying violet crystal just as it came out as the spell ended. For a moment there was no other reaction. All was silent. Suddenly, the sound of Sailor Moon's compact closing broke the silence and Moon went down only to be caught soundly within Uranus's arms. "Well, she's out." Uranus offered as Sailor Moon disappeared in ribbons and sparkles only to be replaced with Usagi. Uranus tightened her arms around Usagi and worry was apparent. She had not, before, lost her transformation from a healing.

"I told you it was too much too quickly." Luna muttered walking up to Usagi, who clearly couldn't hear her. Definitely more tired than Usagi had let on. Luna had no clue though if that was because Usagi hadn't realized it or just had been putting up a front again. She would have been fine, ironically, if Hercules had been a transformed youma since it would have meant they would have had to wear him down to heal him. Oh well hindsight was 20-20 as she heard humans like to say on occasion.

"Is she going to be all right?" Hotaru asked sounding a bit worried, having just de henshined. It was the first time she had seen any of the others go down like that.

"She exhausted herself." Sestuna said joining the rest of the group in dropping their henshins. "A good night's rest and she should be back on her feet. We may want to be careful how we retrieve the rest of the crystals in the future."

"She said she felt barely exhausted the last time. Why would it be so different this time?" Haruka asked confused by how different this had ended adjusting her grip slightly, so she had a better hold on Usagi. Usagi had bounced right out of the last one despite their concerns. This time…well the fact that she was holding Usagi in her arms and not Sailor Moon spoke for itself.

"I don't know." Sestuna admitted. Queen Serenity had never been very open about how the crystal affected her when she used it. So, she had no prior knowledge to draw on even with her own memories. It was also possible that Usagi had been hiding that the last healing had left her more tired than she had let on. Either way they were questions only Usagi could answer and even that was even if she wanted to.

" _Is she going to be okay?_ " Hercules asked after a moment. Luna turned back to him as the others started to move away for the moment. She heard Sestuna mentioning how to do something.

"She'll be fine she just tired herself out. We kind of suspected this might happen. Healing spells are a bit exhausting." Luna admitted.

" _Still…_ " Hercules said frowning slightly.

"Don't feel too bad she knew the possible consequences from pushing forward and insisted on continuing with the plan." Luna said shaking her head. Yes, it had been Hercules that had caused the need but it had been Usagi who had insisted on doing it today.

Hercules said after a moment. " _I should probably get going. Megara and my owner are both probably wondering where I am at this point. I'm assuming I'm good to go at this point?_ "

"You are though, just a warning, Zoicite still might show up since he isn't aware you are no longer a rainbow crystal holder. However, since you are no longer a rainbow crystal holder, and thus no longer a remnant, he should take off pretty quickly." Luna advised. She was fairly certain that he would be seeing Zoicite again. There had been a report of a break-in at the painter's house a few days after they had retrieved that particular crystal. No injuries had been reported and nothing had been stolen so she was fairly certain that had been an instance of Zoicite going after a former rainbow crystal holder.

" _I'll keep that in mind. If you need anything I live not to far from where you first met me. Don't be afraid to take me up on an offer of help. I owe you one._ " Hercules said. He wasn't sure how he could exactly maybe help Luna in the long run but the offer stood none the less.

* * *

It had been sheer bad luck that Usagi had run into Yuki a couple of days later. She had asked Haruka to drop her at the grocery store on the way home from class, so she could run in and grab something she wanted. It was supposed to be a quick in and out. Get the sweets she planned to surprise the other two with for desert after diner and get out. It seemed as if the universe was against her, of course it had attracted trouble. "Well, well if it isn't the legless freak." A familiar voice straight from her nightmares said coming up behind her, causing Usagi to freeze. Yuki. It was Yuki. This wasn't something she had expected.

Yuki was, as always, flanked by two of her 'friends', or perhaps minions would serve a better word, Usagi wasn't exactly sure. Usagi had been really hoping now that she was no longer at Juuban she had seen the last of her too and her group that followed her around. Apparently, she had no such luck.

"Yuki." Usagi greeted stiffly turning to face the other girl trying to keep her tone neutral. Trying to keep a tremble out of her voice as she gripped her purse tighter in an attempt to hide the trembling of her hands. Being alone with Yuki always scared her. Well almost alone. Usagi saw Luna tense up next to her leg out of the corner of her eye. Right. The only people that actually knew what Yuki looked like in their little group were her and Naru. The others had only heard stories. They had never seen her. Still, they were in a public place. Yuki wouldn't possible do anything here, would she?

"So I guessed that since I no longer see you around Juuban you decided to finally drop out rather than continue with school?" Yuki asked quirking an eyebrow, clearly looking down on Usagi.

She heard Luna hiss next to her for some reason choosing to ignore Luna for the moment and focus on Yuki. "I transferred to Mugen Gaken over the year break. I am still in school and much happier now that I'm away from you and your... friends." That was true now that she wasn't constantly looking over her shoulder worried that Yuki might get back to her old tactics she was finally starting to relax.

"You go to Mugen Gaken? You must be joking." Yuki said sniffing hauntingly seeming to stick her nose in the air.

"Usagi everything okay?" Michiru asked coming up next to her, stopping herself from responding for the moment. Guess her shopping was taking long enough that the two other girls had started to wonder.

"Yeah just saying hello to an old classmate." Usagi said. "Michiru this is Yuki, you've heard me talk about her in the past. Yuki this is my current classmate and friend Michiru Kaioh."

Michiru's eyes narrowed. So, this was the infamous Yuki then. Still no last name to the girl but at least she had a face to the name finally. "So you're the famous Yuki I've heard about."

"What's it to you?" Yuki said crossing her arms with a humph.

"Let's make this very clear. Leave. Usagi. Alone." Michiru said leaving the 'or else' unsaid but heavily implied within her intense glare. Yuki was getting one warning only because they were in public and if she pulled something like she had at the ball she would have no quams about going after her next time around.

"What could you do?" Yuki sniffed.

"To begin, pay the over one hundred thousand yen for the dress you destroyed." Michiru said. That had been a designer dress she had lent Usagi. She had never mentioned the cost to Usagi because it was never her fault it had got in its state and for her family replacing it was easy money. Or in this case repairing the dress. That wasn't the point she was driving home to Yuki.

Yuki and Usagi both paled for two different reasons. Yuki, because she was beginning to realize just the type of person she had crossed. Usagi, because she hadn't known how much the dress she had been partly responsible for the destruction of. Yuki frowned after a moment moving to open her mouth. "Why would you care what I do to-" One of Yuki's friends seemed to realize that her finishing the sentence wasn't in her best interest as the next part was muffled by a hand that had been slapped over her mouth. While another dragged helped drag Yuki away. Well that could have gone worse at least it was over.

"Are you all right?" Michiru asked after Yuki was gone.

"Yeah," Usagi lied despite her still knuckles still being bone white holding her bag. "She couldn't really do anything in public. Thanks though." Usagi assured her. Seeing Yuki had shaken her slightly but beyond that hadn't done much else. "I'm sorry about the dress."

"It wasn't your fault Usagi. It was hers. That was why I never mentioned the cost of the dress. You'd have tried to pay me back for it anyway." And with all her expenses Usagi would have suffered for trying such a feat. "Besides, it was never one of my favorites." That was true she had thought it had looked more complimentary on Usagi then it had on her. Before it had gotten ruined by Yuki Michiru had been planning on just letting the girl keep it. "Seeing Yuki really wasn't a problem?" Michiru asked again subtly eyeing Usagi's still white knuckles and slightly trembling hands.

"There's not much she could do somewhere as public as this. At times it wasn't so much what she did at times but what she coerced others into doing." Usagi admitted. A rather infamous incident flashing to the forefront.

"Still, running into the ringleader couldn't have been easy. Are you sure you're okay?" Michiru asked again, looking Usagi over, as she still looked like the color was coming back into her where it had seemed to leave her countenance.

"I'm fine." Usagi assured her forcing a smile and subtly trying to move her fingers to get the blood pumping back into them. Michiru had gotten there and defused the situation basically before it could go anywhere, or any real comments could fly. Luna's absence made her suspect that it had been less them starting to wonder and more Luna had gone and gotten one of them.

"Did you get what you came here for?" Michiru asked after a moment. She didn't think so because she didn't see Usagi carrying anything but her purse but best to ask.

"No. I just want to leave now." Usagi confessed. The unstated thing being the longer they hung out here the more likely it was that Yuki came back. Usagi didn't want to deal with her twice in one day.

"Do you want me to grab it?' Michiru suggested. Normally she wouldn't ask but it was clear the running in with Yuki had upset Usagi no matter how much she tried to deny it. If she grabbed it at least Usagi could get back to the car and hopefully minimize any more chances of a run in with Yuki for a second time.

"Yes please. Strawberries." Usagi agreed relaxing a bit and confessing her goal. The surprise would be ruined but that was better than not at all and it'd still be a nice treat.

"Go ahead and go back to the car. I'll follow soon." Michiru said waving her off.

"Thanks, I'll see you back at the car." Usagi said turning to walk back to the car.

* * *

Usagi almost made it back to the car without incident. "Where are you going freak?" Yuki's voice called at her in the garage made her come to a stop. Yuki just apparently couldn't leave her alone today could she? At least this time she was minus her usual friends. That was interesting, she had never seen Yuki alone in public. Maybe they had taken Michiru's warning as where Yuki obviously hadn't.

"Going home." Usagi said slowly inching back in the direction the car was parked. Hoping Haruka might see. Just so someone was aware of the situation. Yuki shouldn't do anything there. There was no one to prevent her from escaping trouble if she tried something. This wasn't Juuban where she could easily bribe her way out of trouble constantly. This was a grocery store parking garage. If Yuki was as smart as she believed she would realize doing something here would be stupid.

"Seriously, how does a girl like you make friends with a Kaioh of all people?" Yuki sneered deciding to skip the pre-amble for now. Apparently, Yuki had been able to remember just who Michiru's family was in the interlude. Usagi wasn't too surprised by the jab. Michiru's family was powerful and Yuki most certainly knew that if she recognized her last name. So, she would use that as angle to make a jab at Usagi.

"Probably the same way you kept getting out of trouble at Juuban." Usagi said more to herself then to Yuki. Not really thinking about the fact she might be feeding the fire until the sentence had already been said. She was just tired of having to hear the constant almost repeated jabs.

"How dare you." Yuki said face flushing now causing Usagi to flinch and take several large steps backwards. An angry Yuki was a fearsome Yuki, more so than usual even. Yuki had been more the type to get calculating when something got to her, she was a planner from what Usagi had seen herself, and this increased when she was angry. The times Yuki had gotten actually truly angry were when the worst things tended to happen. Usagi had a couple of scars to prove that.

One of Usagi's feet wobbled for a second when she suddenly found she had no more room to back up from a rapidly approaching Yuki. When had she gotten backed up on to one of the ledges of the garage? Panic starting to form in her stomach as she realized there was no way out of the situation but the direction she had come, and the direction Yuki was rapidly approaching her from.

White hot fear coursed through her as she realized she was trapped with no way out and no help in sight.

Usagi had barely time to maybe come up with a plan before Yuki got close enough to give her a shove causing her to stumble back and over the ledge. The unmistakable feeling of air beneath her as she went over the ledge. Would she die this time? She found herself trying to brace for the inevitable impact. Eyes shut tightly, she realized there was no way to minimize the impact of this fall. She was going to die or worse, become more crippled than she already was. Maybe it would be her spine that would break this time?

Suddenly, warmth. Usagi hit a soft chest hard as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. She wasn't sure when or how Haruka had gotten there in time but she was grateful she had.

"It's okay. You're okay." She could hear Haruka uttering reassurances as she tried to calm down. She didn't even realize she was shaking. Everything was as if it was far away. This had come to close for comfort to a repeat of the stairs back at Juuban. Usagi found herself reaching up to touch Haruka's cheek as a way to assure both of them that she had gotten there in time. Safe, she was really safe. She absently noticed that Haruka's eyes were damp and her heart was beating fast.

Usagi could hear Yuki saying something but everything was becoming further away now and it sounded a lot like listening to sound from underwater. Whatever it was must have not been complimentary because the next thing she heard was the unmistakable sound of a slap, even through the underwater quality sound had taken. Usagi moved her head, which felt like the hardest thing in the world at that moment and saw Michiru facing away from her and Yuki holding her cheek.

"Damn." Haruka swore. She couldn't really remember a time Michiru had gotten physically confrontive with anyone, Dark Kingdom or otherwise. She had always preferred words or magic. Yuki must have really set her off if she had slapped her. "Better get security to take care of this before she says something that she really would regret. You going to be okay for a few minutes?" Haruka asked Usagi. Well regret more then she might be currently. Usagi nodded despite how the room spun. Now that Yuki was more interested in shrieking at Michiru she should be okay. "Luna, keep an eye on her." Haruka said putting her down finally, clearly not believing Usagi was alright. She would rather not leave Usagi but someone needed to get security before this got even more out of hand.

"I'm fine Luna." Usagi assured the cat as she came up to her. "Just shaken." Luna quirked an eyebrow making a gesture at the ledge she had come off of. Clearly not fully believing her. "I don't remember the other time, not really. All I know is from that video." Usagi said quietly after a moment. "I guess I remember enough to know what the sensation of having nothing underneath you feels like. It's not pleasant."

She hadn't even realized the security guards had arrived, brought by what or by whom she wasn't sure, until she saw one of them take a hold of the still screeching Yuki and began walking her back in the direction of the grocery store. One of them stayed behind for a few minutes to talk with Michiru probably about what had transpired. It wasn't until Yuki was taken around a corner and the screeching finally started to fade that Usagi let her relax. Yuki would probably squirm her way out of this one like she had every other time but at least it was over for now.

* * *

"You caught me before I could hit the ground. I'm fine Haruka." Usagi reminded her, the lingering numbness to her awareness, almost like an out of body experience, now fading. After they had gotten back to the apartment Haruka hadn't let her out of her sight. She wasn't going to deny the fact that the whole incident had shaken her but Haruka had gotten there. She wasn't hurt. Yuki hadn't been able to do anything today. Well, other than possibly scare them quiet effectively.

"Should have been there." Haruka muttered into Usagi's hair. As soon as they had gotten settled she had pulled Usagi into her lap and had been refusing to let her go. She knew Usagi was fine but the incident with Yuki had not gone over well with her. Especially since it felt like she had come incredibly close to not catching her.

"You got there in time that's all that matters. None of us expected for me to run in with her, let alone her follow me out to the garage." Usagi reminded her. If she had been worried about either happening she would have either stayed with Michiru or asked one of the others to accompany her. As was she had been almost hoping the warning would have kept Yuki at bay. She should have known better.

"What happened anyway?" Michiru asked frowning slightly. Well apart from the obvious part. She had gotten there in time to find a seething Yuki shooting her mouth about Usagi and Haruka. Michiru had missed everything up to that point.

"She tried to accuse me of buying your friendship. I may have mentioned how money may have been involved with her getting away with things. She didn't like it." Usagi explained.

"She pushed you off a ledge of a garage. It was more than a floor up from the shaft. That's more than not taking that well. You could have died." Haruka added tightening her arms around Usagi.

"Partly my fault I was there to begin with. Got her angry and didn't pay attention to exactly where my feet were taking me." Usagi shrugged. Sure, the action that had led to the whole incident had been from Yuki, but maybe if she had just ignored her…

Michiru noticeably scowled at that. "Most people don't push people into possibly life-threatening injury for pointing out unpleasant truths. By what little you've said, I've no doubt how she got away with things." With their healing factor Usagi probably would have been fine even if Haruka hadn't gotten there in time, but without the senshi healing factor... she truly would have died if she had hit the ground. Even with it she'd have been hurt for some time. That didn't change how much the idea shook either of them up or just how dangerous it was. Or the fact that this wasn't really normal behavior for a normal person.

"I know that, I'm not trying to excuse her. I just should have known better by now then to run my mouth at her in some form." Usagi said after a moment. "I honestly didn't think she would ever try something like that in public." Usagi admitted. "Well public that isn't school." She amended after a moment. Guess Yuki's time at Juuban was making her power over the admin go to her head if she thought she could bribe (or whatever it was she did to keep her self from getting in trouble) her way out of every scenario. Maybe this time would provide a reality check. Not that Usagi was overly hopeful of Yuki getting more then a light slap on the wrist. "She almost never really got angry at school when she did she was her own brand of scary." Usagi confessed. You would think that after all that time dealing with youma and the Dark Kingdom Yuki wouldn't be able to scare her anymore. Guess not. "It was always worse when she got angry."

* * *

"We finally met Yuki." Haruka told Setsuna a few days later. Setsuna was trying to get herself to start interacting with the other senshi besides Usagi more. Years of isolation and living at the Time Gates made it even a bit of a hard habit to kick and perhaps it was also a little exhausting as well. Sure she had her other clients outside of Usagi but that was different to her somehow then talking with the fellow senshi. Too much isolation for too long meant Setsuna wasn't used to interacting with others, really, and she wasn't sure she ever really would be.

"Really, how did that happen?" Setsuna asked raising an eyebrow. She had seen Yuki before but only in passing. She really had no clue how the other girl behaved other than from what little she had gotten from Usagi.

"Usagi was at picking something up at the store. Luna came and grabbed me once she realized what we were dealing with." Michiru explained.

"Did she do anything this time or was she just making comments?" Setsuna asked frowning slightly. Something about the two were giving off a vibe of irritation and anger. She had a feeling Yuki was at the center of those feelings.

"Well it started out as comments. I brought up the dress. Since she was responsible for the destruction of it I could technically get her to pay for it." Michiru explained.

"Aren't you getting that dress fixed anyway?" Setsuna asked raising an eyebrow.

"I am and I know that and you know that but Yuki doesn't know that." Michiru said grinning to the point where she was showing a bit more teeth then normal before continuing. "Yuki cornered her. She could have killed Usagi."

"What happened?" Setsuna asked raising an eyebrow, her voice having an edge, a clear demand.

"I stayed back to grab the strawberries Usagi wanted and Usagi went to the car." Michiru explained. "Apparently the brat couldn't take a warning for what it was and decided to confront her a second time."

"Yuki pushed Usagi over a ledge." Haruka said shaking slightly. It had shaken her how close Usagi had come to getting seriously hurt again. Sure, she had gotten there in time. But if she had been a millisecond slower they would be having a very different conversation in a very different location probably. Even with their healing factors a hit to the head could be dangerous.

Setsuna took a deep breath calming herself. The way Haruka had said that it must have been a decent height and put Usagi in danger. The only assurance right now was that she was fairly certain this conversation would have gone very differently and happened sooner if Usagi had actually been injured. "She's okay?"

"A bit shaken." Michiru assured her. "If I had been even a little slower..." Haruka trailed off, a slightly glazed look taking her eyes as she was clearly imagining something horrible.

"What ended up happening with Yuki?" Setsuna asked frowning. Maybe since it was finally in a public place this wouldn't get covered up like everything at school.

"Don't know. I went and grabbed security while Yuki was shrieking at Michiru for slapping her." Haruka said shrugging slightly.

Setsuna shot a surprised look at Michiru. Even back during her days as the princess of Neptune Michiru had never been the type to get physically involved with someone. Whatever Yuki had said must have really angered her to go beyond the use of words. Michiru shrugged. "A slap was the least she deserved."

"Agreed." Setsuna acquiesced shaking her head slightly. Probably it was a good thing Haruka had had her hands full with Usagi or it might have progressed further then a slap. "So security took off with her after that?"

"Yes. Usagi seemed to think that she probably won't be held accountable for her actions since she never was during their time at Juuban as classmates." Michiru added. "We are unsure if this will be different as this isn't Juuban."

"I wish I knew the whole story so I could understand how the school was able to get away with all of this." Setsuna said to herself rubbing her temples slightly. It was difficult to understand both Usagi's and Yuki's actions when you didn't know the whole story behind either of them.

"She still hasn't told you?" Michiru asked slightly surprised. It had been a couple of weeks now since Usagi and Naru had told them everything. She would have thought Usagi would have told Setsuna by now. She knew Usagi hadn't told Hotaru everything yet but Usagi had also known Setsuna a lot longer then Hotaru so probably Hotaru would be the last to know.

"No. It was more important that she tell you." Setsuna explained shaking her head slightly. There was a long list of reasons why Usagi had needed to come clean about what had happened with Yuki. The top of it being that she lived with them. She could wait, she had others ways of knowing. With these two they really couldn't have kept waiting.

* * *

"Michiru mentioned you finally told her and Haruka about what happened at Juuban." Setsuna began the next time they got together. Usagi had told her she was planning to tell them but the last get together had been the first confirmation of really just how much Usagi had told them.

Usagi wrung her hands for a moment thinking. Despite saying that she would tell Setsuna at her next appointment, having planned to, when it came time to actually do something it got a lot more difficult. Talking about Yuki and what had happened in Juuban's walls was still difficult and probably always would be. Usagi almost wished she had dragged Naru with her for once. She wasn't sure how well that would have gone over with Sestuna. "She didn't give you details?"

"No I thought it was best I heard directly from you." Setsuna said after a moment noting the girls nervous behavior. "Usagi, as much as I would prefer to know, if you don't want to talk about it now we can talk about other things today." Setsuna recognized things might be too fresh with new reminders for this particular subject. There was still the time gates option but she would rather have Usagi trust her enough to get it from her first hand first before consulting the gates, hence why she had held on and stubbornly not looked yet.

Usagi was silent for a moment, clearly thinking. "The worst days were when Naru had to be gone. There was Umino but we weren't particularly close and his presence never seemed to really deter them. He was easily lead away, though he did try. I guess that matters for something." Usagi said after a moment. "Thankfully those days were far and few between."

"Naru was your protector, in a way, back then." Setsuna concluded

"Kind of." Usagi agreed. "They were less likely to come after me directly if I had Naru around. It didn't stop them completely though. They usually got more indirect when they knew she was around. That didn't stop them completely, my prosthetics are proof that. I still had to be careful but I guess they realized if Naru was there they would have a witness to their actions that would refuse to back down. They got more creative. In a way she was able to protect me from some things."

Naru wasn't exactly big and while she definitely had the mentality, from what Setsuna had seen, to protect her friend she doubted that was a task easily accomplished. Still, apparently something about Naru was able to drive them off at times judging by the way Usagi spoke. Something Setsuna was grateful for. She couldn't imagine how broken Usagi might be if she hadn't had anyone at all. "Did they ever go after Naru to get at you?"

"No. Not that I know of at least. I don't know why but Naru was mostly left alone. The worst thing they tried to do with her was try separating us before Yuki turned on me." Usagi said after a moment. Maybe it went back to status quo…. "I just don't know where to start with everything at Juuban I guess. Maybe some stuff is okay but I don't want to talk about all of it.

"What was the worst thing she put you through physically and emotionally." Setsuna asked. That was at least a place to start. Maybe not get the full details today but some was better then none. "

"Physically I guess the time I ended up in the hospital from being pushed down the stairs." Usagi said after considering her options. There had been a lot of physical aspects of the bullying so pinpointing one as the worst of all of them wasn't exactly the easiest. But if she had to choose the incident that had landed her in the hospital won that award.

"The head injury." Setsuna muttered more to herself having remembered seeing the reports. "Did Yuki do that herself?"

"I don't remember seeing her in the group that knocked me out but it was some of her 'friends' so she had to have been involved somehow." Usagi admitted shaking her head slightly. "If she wasn't involved somehow I would be more surprised." Usagi clarified as she let out a sigh thinking back to what little details she knew. The fact that several people had been involved and Naru had been the one who had found her. "Naru was the one who found me. She never said it for sure but I think it gave her a lot of nightmares following the incident." Usagi said thinking back to the direct aftermath. Guess she could always ask Luna if the nightmares had gone on for as long as she suspected then Luna would know about them.

"And emotionally?" Setsuna asked trying to move slightly away from the head injury for now. She was going to go back and look at those reports later. For now, the exact details of that weren't important other then knowing Yuki had a hand in it.

Usagi hesitated there for a moment going over her options. There was a lot of emotional things to consider. The blow up at the grave that had started the downward spiral among them. She guessed it went back to the worst case of manipulation Yuki had done. "Once, about two months into it Yuki said she wanted to get together and talk. Claimed she was being forced to behave the way she was. Except when I showed up she wasn't there. Instead there were three boys."

Setsuna couldn't help paling slightly at that realizing where this was probably going. "What happened?" She asked in an almost whisper.

Usagi looked down and gripped her pant legs. "They tried to... but I screamed before they could really get anywhere and caused a teacher to come running." Usagi let out a mild snort at that. "Probably the only time someone that worked at the school actually stood up for me." That hadn't lasted either since Ms. Haruna been transferred a month later. Now, Usagi wondered if that incident and covering it up wasn't why she was transferred.

"How is your progress with breaking some of the habits you formed at Juuban?" Setsuna asked.

Usagi closed her eyes for a moment thinking. "For the most part I've been able to do some of it. Naru and I aren't in the same class anymore so she can't exactly tail me around like she used to. I go to classes and I sit and sometimes I don't watch all the doors in a room. I still can't get myself to use the lockers at Mugen, not really anyway." Usagi admitted after a moment. "I use it. I try sometimes so I have a couple things in there, but I don't and I am not sure I want to."

"How does that make you feel?" Setsuna asked frowning slightly. At the very least this habit was inconsequential and understandable. The truth of the matter was simply that if she never broke that particular habit, it wouldn't harm her or her quality of life. Talking about the reason though, and facing it, that would still be important.

"I'm not sure. Back then I would sometimes find some things of mine damaged or tossed in the trash nearby. Other times they liked to leave things in the lockers. Some harmless, sometimes not so much…" Usagi trailed off there. "The last time I used my locker they had a knife come swinging down at me when I opened it." Usagi explained quietly.

"You had an upper locker correct?" Setsuna asked frowning slightly, keeping her reactions outwardly more calm than she felt. At Usagi's nod she continued more to herself. "That could have caused serious harm." If it had been rigged the correct way then it could have hit Usagi in the throat. The more Usagi talked about it the less it sounded like typical school bullying and more like an extreme personal vendetta against her. This was starting to drive home just how bad what Yuki had put Usagi through.

"Tell that to the school." Usagi muttered more to herself then Setsuna, bringing Setsuna out of her reverie.

Setsuna had half a mind to do just that. Some of the things Usagi was describing and the school's lack of actions almost bordered on criminal negligence. While the time she had been pushed down the stairs had been the only time she knew that Usagi had ended up in the hospital it sounded like there had been far too many close calls. "You know some of this damning enough you could possibly press charges against Juubans administration?"

Usagi nodded her head. "I know that. In order to keep going I just want to move on."

* * *

One afternoon Luna slipped out of the apartment she shared with the girls, an idea on her mind. Luna's eyes narrowed. It was time Yuki got a taste of her own medicine. It had taken her an hour or so of wandering to find who she was looking for. " _Luna. I must admit some surprise at seeing you again so soon._ "

"Hercules." Luna greeted the blue Teuan. "I wasn't planning on trying to track you down so soon, admittedly. But there is something I'm planning and I was hoping you and your friends could be of assistance in the matter?"

" _And what would that be?_ " Hercules asked. He had meant when he said he was willing to pay the favor he was just being curious at this juncture.

"Creative revenge upon someone who has harmed my human." Luna stated simply.

" _Huh. Well that wasn't what I was thinking when I said you could call on me in favor but it works. Come on. I'll introduce you to the others._ " Hercules said leading her away from the main street.

"I thought you said you had an owner." Luna said frowning slightly looking around.

" _Most of us do. This is just more of a gathering place then anything. A place to socialize with others like us and for the kittens to interact and have play time outside of their owners._ " A new female voice said.

" _Luna, this is my mate Megara._ " Hercules said indicating the female calico that was now walking up to them who had spoken.

" _You must be the Luna I heard so much about. Thank you again for the help with that weird person._ " Megara said after a moment.

"It's not a problem it's part of my job. That being said I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you." Luna said.

" _Luna wants our help in getting revenge, against, I'm assuming another human?"_ Hercules asked directing the last part at Luna. Luna nodded her head. " _I am guessing this isn't that one that was targeting me before?_ "

"No. This is a different human." Luna confirmed. She was kind of glad that Yuki appeared to be human for all intents and purpose. Having someone with such a mean streak working for the Dark Kingdom would be highly unpleasant.

" _Must have been really something if you want help getting back at her._ " Megara noted.

Luna nodded her head in confirmation. "She broke my human, over the course of a year, and nearly killed her recently. This was, apparently, not the first time."

" _What exactly happened?_ " Megara asked. It sounded like quite a story. She knew that there was more then one way to break a human, mostly on a physical front. But for the whole event to be dragged out for a year…

"It's not my place to say." Luna said shaking her head. Considering how reluctant Usagi had been to speak about it even with her and the others about the matter she felt not going into details about the whole incident was the best route.

" _Fair enough."_  Hercules agreed. " _We should see if any of the others want in on this first._ " There were a few strays in the group that he could think would probably be interested in joining in for no reason other then the chaos that could ensue.

"The more the merrier." Luna agreed with a glint in her eyes that promised Yuki would rue the day she'd messed with her human. The more joined in, the more damage they could wreck.

" _If we're going to ask the others to get involved we're going to need to find something to do with the kits._ " Megara pointed out after a moment.

An idea to pop into Luna's head. A way to have the kits watched after and to cheer Usagi up after the grocery store incident. "Actually, I have a second favor to ask and a way for them to be watched for at least a few hours."

* * *

When Haruka and Michiru came back from running errands later the following evening it was to find Usagi back in the main living area surrounded by what looked like to be at least a couple of dozen kittens. Some were laying around her or playing. A couple had taken up perches on her, including two of the smaller tortoiseshell ones currently perched on her head between her odangos.

"Luna's idea. They are from others like Hercules I think." Usagi said looking up from giving one of the kittens a scratch under the chin.

"Kitten buried under a pile of kittens." Haruka teased. She was glad to see Usagi looking happy again. It was easy to guess why Luna may have orchestrated something like this to cheer up Usagi. The run in with Yuki had seemed to cause her to start withdrawing so seeing the other girl smiling again made her happy.

" _Haruka_." Usagi said trying to sound stern but failing as a kitten's whiskers managed to tickle her tummy. A black and orange kitten had climbed inside her blouse and was, apparently, making a home in there. She got Haruka was teasing but...

"Where did they come from?" Michiru asked picking up one of the tuxedo kittens that had been laying across Usagi's legs, having missed Usagi's initial explanation. She assumed they were just visitors or else Usagi would have called them about suddenly owning what had to be at least a couple of dozen kittens.

"Luna dropped them off earlier saying she had a few errands to take care of and asked me to watch them. A couple of them are apparently the kittens of Hercules and his mate Megara, some are the kittens of their friends. Others like Hercules. They should be back for them in a few hours. So I'm basically cat sitting in the meantime. Apparently, there is an entire society of cats with ancestors like Luna, or that's what she said at least. I'm not sure I understand her explanation." Usagi explained. She wasn't sure how she had gotten designated as the cat sitter for whatever Luna and her new-found friends were getting up to but she wasn't really complaining.

Michiru frowned slightly at that. What in the world could Luna and a bunch of cats be getting up to that needed their kittens to be babysat?.

"Hercules? Like the one that was a rainbow crystal holder Hercules?" Haruka asked a bit surprised asked taking a different kitten with a darker coat and looking at it. Now that she actually looked she could kind of see the a tint of the bluish coat that the afore mentioned cat had.

"The very same." Usagi said.

"I wonder what in the world they were getting up to that someone else couldn't watch them?" Michiru pondered, though it was easy to guess the intention may have been to make Usagi smile.

"Luna wouldn't elaborate when I tried to ask. Just said that the group had some things to do together and asked if I would watch them. Didn't have anything better to do so I agreed." Usagi shrugged. She wasn't complaining she was thoroughly enjoying this so she was a bit curious what Luna and the others were getting up to. But Luna hadn't been willing to elaborate much when she had tried to ask. "Besides. These kittens are adorable." She brought one up and rubbed noses with said kitten before the very same kitten started playing with her bangs, batting the strands of hair lightly before Usagi let the kitten climb up on her head where the little one purred contentedly.

"Do you need some help getting up?" Michiru asked after a moment deciding to drop the topic of Luna and her cohorts. Maybe something to bother Luna herself personally later.

"Everytime I move one of them to get up I swear another one takes its place." Usagi said. She loved this, she did, but she really needed to pee. While the kittens were small in size they weren't exactly small in number.

"Here I'll take a few off." Michiru said coming over to remove some of the more precariously perched kittens. Most of the others would scatter once Usagi was able to stand up but ones like the couple kittens currently on top of her head were best to be removed before she moved.

"Thanks Michiru." Usagi said getting up now that she was sure no one was going to go toppling. Some of the kittens began mewing in protest at her sudden departure. Usagi said slightly exasperated. "I am going to be right back. Really!"

"Looks like they have a favorite new human." Haruka commented chuckling. Michiru joined in as Usagi sped off to the bathroom and a kitten tumbled behind her. A favorite new human indeed.

End Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's wrap for this week.
> 
> Just a reminder I do go back and update the old chapters on occasion. Sometimes with error fixes other times I'll add scenes in that I didn't think of at the time. 4 in particular got a massive update to it this week.
> 
> So if you ever see something that might seem out of place there's a chance that it's referencing something I put in later.
> 
> It might also be I made an error though. Hard to say sometimes.
> 
> Next week marks a milestone! 21 will be the last chapter that has a correlating version in A Different Path. Which means beginning on the 31st with 22 this version will have surpassed the original in just about everything. Kind of exciting to think about.
> 
> Anyways preview for 21:
> 
> "This is probably easier. If I knew I'm not sure I could stop myself. I'm on thin ice with my job and keeping clearance to have one." Makoto admitted pinching her nose slightly. Speaking of which, Makoto glanced up at the clock on the nearby wall before speaking again. "Sorry, I can't stay for long. I was just blowing off some steam before I had to get to work. My boss is going to see the doctor today so I can't afford to be late. I just had a bit of spare time so I ended up here." She didn't have to be at work quiet yet so she could still hang out but she was going to have leave soon.
> 
> "You got a job at the arcade?" Usagi asked in surprise. She hadn't heard of the Arcade needing more workers but then again, she really hadn't been paying that much attention to that kind of thing recently. Though now that she thought about Makoto had said something about going to a doctor. Motoki had looked just fine when she had walked past a few minutes ago.
> 
> "No. I'm working down the road at the Hikawa Shrine. Apparently, the last shrine hand up and quit without warning. Since I was looking for a job and they were looking for a hand I ended up working there." Makoto explained.
> 
> "The school didn't give you any trouble over getting a job?" Usagi asked in surprised. Considering how much of a fit they had thrown over her other stuff it was hard to imagine otherwise.
> 
> "Oh they weren't happy. There was a lot of long conversations with the admins but I finally got them to agree." Makoto admitted. There had been enough conversations to make her head spin, but she had eventually gotten their permission. Her best guess as to why they had given permission was they were hoping the distraction from work would keep her out of trouble. She wasn't entirely sure.
> 
> That's a wrap for this week. I'll see everyone on the 17th with the next chapter. Have a good weekend!


	21. Koneko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone welcome to this week's chapter!
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.

Chapter 21

Koneko

"I want to thank you again for letting Usagi watch your kittens. It does seem to make her happier." Luna said after a moment. It had been a day since she had managed to first rope Hercules and his friends into helping her in getting back at Yuki. The additional thank you for getting involved with getting back at Yuki was left unsaid but there. They weren't out doing anything at the moment other than planning so Usagi wasn't watching the kittens today. Though she had a feeling that wouldn't be the last time the kittens were over at the apartment. Quite a few of them had seemed to have taken a shining to Usagi.

Hercules shrugged, " _As I said before_ _,_ _we owe you one. She seems like a sweet girl who wouldn't usually hurt a fly. Besides you don't seem like the type to engage in this behavior without reason._ " Or at least that's what he had been able to garner from the few interactions with her and what the kits had said after staying with her. He would like to think Luna had good enough judgment to not let the kits near a dangerous human and it pointed towards the girl's good character that Luna wasn't in any pickle herself, considering the girl knew what Luna was and what she could do.

"Your right." Luna agreed.

" _What did she do_ _? T_ _o your owner?_ " Megara asked coming up to them again with a frown. Luna had been tight-lipped about the whole thing before but that didn't stop the genuine curiosity on what had gotten Luna on this path.

"Broke her is the short version of that answer." Luna said. "The long answer is a very long story and not for the faint of heart." She wasn't sure if she should be sharing the particulates. Usagi was getting more comfortable and open with all of them, yes. But some of the things that she had mentioned about what she had gone through were a bit personal.

" _You know if you shared the particulates we might be able to give her a taste of her own medicine."_  Hercules said after a moment.

"It feels like it's not my place and I wouldn't know where to even begin." Luna admitted with some hesitation. "Some of it is rather personal." More personal then she was comfortable than sharing without Usagi's permission and she had yet to tell anyone about her plans to get back at Yuki.

" _Just how long are we talking before you were told anything?"_ Megara asked raising an eyebrow.

"I first heard about Yuki in passing about a week after I found Usagi in mid-January. I didn't find out the specifics of what Yuki had done until a couple of weeks before I approached you. So three months." Luna answered.

" _I can kind of see why your hesitating. It_ _seems it was rather serious for her to take so long and then it must have been in confidence_ _."_  Megara realized.

Luna tilted her head after a moment. "That and Usagi still doesn't like to talk about it and we know there is still more she isn't ready to talk about." Luna let out a sigh. "As much as I would love for Yuki to get an exact taste of the thing she inflicted on Usagi, some of it would not be possible and even if we could we would have to become monsters of the worst sort, worse than the dark kingdom I think." That and some of it was physically impossible to replicate. Torn and ruined clothes easy enough as a cat. They had claws after all. A flying knife in a locker like Usagi had described at one point, not so much. Oh well, it didn't mean they couldn't make the girl's life any less of a living hell. There was no way to duplicate it exactly like Usagi had lived through but Yuki would know soon enough that she had crossed the wrong person.

* * *

Zoisite, in general, hadn't been having a good week. He thought he knew what he was getting into when he had taken over various tasks when Nephrite had deserted his post but really he had no idea what he was getting into or how much Nephrite truly did.

"First you render our efforts to get the Great Warrior Youma useless because you abandoned two of them after they transformed,  _THEN_  you let this Tuxedo Mask character get away with one _,_  and the  _Sailor Senshi sneak another two out right from under your nose_.  **Finally,** an unremarkable  _70-year-old_ _human_ _man somehow gets the better of you_  before you can get the next rainbow crystal." Queen Beryl was very clearly  _ **LIVID**_ _ **.**_ If it wasn't for the fact that she was running low on generals and she didn't trust some of the youma to actually follow command, she might have tossed him into eternal sleep like she had Jaedite and pulled Kunzite. As tempting as that was proving it was also a bad idea and she knew it. She needed Kunzite in England to keep the Venetian brat busy so the Sailor Senshi didn't get any bigger than it already was.

"My apologies my Queen. The human was rather spry for his age." Zoisite apologized bowing to her. What he had thought was going to be an easy extraction had turned into a pain very quickly. First, the man had somehow had managed to break free of the extraction hold. And then he had been attacked by a pair of twin crows.

It would figure that the first crystal carrier he got an upper hand on in a week would be the one that caused him the most trouble. Well though now that he was thinking about it. The only crystal carrier he had gotten to first that hadn't caused problems was the Catholic priest. The first carrier he had been interrupted by that one brunette.

"I don't need excuses Zoisite!  _I need results_ _!_   **Be grateful were short in leadership** , else you would be  _joining_  Jaedite in eternal sleep." Beryl said with clear venom in her voice.  **"Now get out of here before I do something that the two of us will both regret."** At this rate, his continued presence wasn't going to end well for his health, or for her keeping a leadership underneath her.  _He was going to really have to hope that he produced a crystal this time._

* * *

"Thanks for letting me come over. Papa sometimes gets busy with work. It's just him and I living in the house, so it gets lonely sometimes." Hotaru admitted. Usagi had invited her over one afternoon when she knew she was going to be kitten sitting again (apparently the cats had been impressed enough with her and the others jobs last time they had asked her to watch them again). She had found herself alone for the afternoon aside from the kittens since everyone else seemed busy. Figuring that even if Hotaru's bullies were starting to lighten up as they realized they didn't want to cross her new friends she probably could use a bit cheering up.

"Not a problem. If you ever need to get out or get away feel free to send me a text. I know I don't mind you coming over and I think the others wouldn't either." Usagi said after a moment. It was taking time but the other two were starting to relax around Hotaru the longer she was awake as Saturn.

"So did Haruka start calling you kitten before or after you started watching the kittens?" Hotaru asked curiously. She had heard Haruka use the nickname a bit teasingly a few times in passing.

"After. Haruka actually started calling me kitten after the first time I babysat them." Usagi said scratching one of the kittens' chins. "Their parents asked me through Luna to help socialize them with humans on the weekend to help get them ready to be adopted by good humans. I agreed. I figured with how rough it gets at school you would probably appreciate this as much as I do." Meaning she would probably appreciate the distraction from the bullies that wasn't Senshi related.

"Has anyone tried anything lately?" Usagi asked. She hadn't seen anything, but she still wanted to make sure.

"No, most of them are smart enough to not do anything overly aggressive to begin with, what with dad being headmaster. It doesn't stop everyone though... but I think they don't want to mess with Haruka more than they don't want to mess with my dad." Hotaru said after a moment getting a vaguely bemused look on her face at the end.

"At least you have the school administration on your side." Usagi said after a moment. Sometimes she wondered how much things would have turned out different if the burden of dealing with her bullies hadn't been placed on her. "Juuban." She elaborated when she saw Hotaru's confused face. "There was a girl who took every opportunity to either torment me or make more opportunities to do so."

"Why did administration not step in? Did they think it wasn't that bad?" Hotaru asked, trying to understand why no one had stepped in to stop it.

Usagi snorted at that. "I wish. They knew how bad it was. There was at least a few incidents where..." Usagi trailed off after a moment. Her eyes going distant for a moment as she petted one of the kittens. Before shaking her head, best not to think of those darker times too much.

"What's the worst thing she did?" Hotaru asked a bit curious. Kind of wondering why Usagi had broke off before finishing her statement. Most of the time the worst she had to deal with was people destroying her stuff. Which wasn't great either but at least they hadn't been going directly after her either. Most knew better than to try and physically harm her but there was always a few exceptions here and there.

"Set me up to be raped." Usagi confessed after a moment after debating telling her or not. But at this point everyone else knew, it felt unfair keeping Hotaru out of the loop entirely. Yuki had done a lot of things during her reign of terror, but the worst had been that particular incident.

Hotaru blanched _ **. "**_ _ **WHAT?!"**_

"Naru can tell you more if you want details she was there for the incident. I don't feel like talking about it in any sort of detail. I am not sure she will either but she can confirm for you what happened if you don't believe it." Usagi confessed.

"No wonder the others hate her so much." Hotaru said. The others hadn't exactly told her what had happened between Usagi and Yuki but she did remember a conversation about Yuki and a ruined dress. She hadn't known Usagi well enough to know what she had been like when she first became Sailor Moon but from what she had heard, a lot more withdrawn then she was currently.

"Haruka and Michiru were aware of the fact I had a history with her. But they weren't aware of how extensive it was until recently. Naru, since she was by my side the whole time, has always known what Yuki put me through." Usagi admitted.

"And the school wouldn't do  _anything_?" Hotaru asked. "Even after someone tried to assault you?"

"Someones actually, and no the school kept insisting there was nothing they could do. The one saving grace was they made the boys who attempted to... leave. After that caused their friends blamed me for there friends leaving the school." Usagi explained. "Things got worse as a result. Thankfully they didn't try again."

"Did it end or was it still going when you finished your last semester at Juuban?" Hotaru asked hesitantly putting the kitten down she had been holding. She was becoming upset enough at this point she was afraid she would accidentally injure it in her own distress over Usagi's situation.

"No. The school finally did something when I ended up in the hospital with a head injury that some of her friends were caught on camera causing. They expelled those on camera, but that wasn't the entire group. When I came back from winter break all of a sudden none of them would go near me." Usagi explained.

"Your bullies make mine look like child's play." Hotaru said after a moment. She hoped her bullies never crossed paths with Usagi's because she was honestly kind of afraid that where that possible information exchange could lead to.

"I had Naru." Usagi said trying to downplay it a bit. Thank god for Naru. She didn't think she would have survived Juuban without her. Sure she had Umino so Naru wasn't her only support. But would having just one would have probably made the situation a lot worse.

"And I had the backing of the school to keep it from getting  _ **that**_  bad." Hotaru said shaking her head. They both had had their own advantages in their situations. Usagi had had Naru and she had had her father. Sure, Hotaru's bullies got to be a bit much at times, but none of them had tried to do much beyond some ruined personal items and mean comments because they  _knew_  it wouldn't end well. It hadn't been easy since she had no friends at Mugen Gaken prior to becoming Saturn but at least they hadn't escalated.

Usagi decided she wanted to change the topic away from the bullies. "So have you thought about what we talked about last time. About telling the others about your condition?"

Hotaru sighed. "Yeah. I've been thinking about it. Your right that it does help knowing the fact that they've handled something somewhat similar well before. But…"

"You're still scared?" Usagi guessed.

Hotaru nodded her head. Usagi spoke after a moment. "I can't really give any advice without being a hypocrite. I am not going to push you but remember you know my reaction already."

Hotaru smiled a bit at that. "Thank you."

* * *

"Makoto!" Usagi greeted the brunette warmly. She and Naru were doing a weekend sleepover just to break up the monotony, and also so Usagi could give Haruka and Michiru some space since they had been on top of each other since she moved in. At least it felt like that. Usagi wasn't expected to be at Naru's place for another couple of hours so she had decided to swing by the arcade to blow off some steam before going over to Osa-P to meet up with Naru.

"Long time no see Usagi. How's Mugen Gaken been treating you?" Makoto greeted.

"Good. Better than Juuban." Usagi admitted. No Yuki to deal with she still mainly hung out with Naru and the others more than some of her classmates. Now at least she had control back over who her friends were. When Yuki had isolated her, she had felt stripped of that. At least things were getting easier and Yuki was becoming more of a passing thought outside of the times that it was unavoidable it was going to rear its head. Like that one run in she had had with Yuki a few weeks back that she tried not to think about it.

"Yeah. You look good. I'm feeling it though, the school admin can be a bit of a pain." Makoto said making a face.

"Sorry, you have to put up with them." Usagi said. It was true, one thing she definitely did not miss in the least was Juuban and its teachers. "I ran into Yuki a week back. I could see she hasn't changed."

"I think she's gotten worse since she found out you got into Mugen Gaken." Makoto commented. Word had spread like wildfire about Usagi's transfer to Mugen Gaken once Yuki had been told about that. Reaction ranging from a couple of people seeming happy for Usagi to those in Yuki's circle seeming pissed that she had gotten something they couldn't.

"Really? Sorry to hear that. Guess I shouldn't have said where I was going to school." Usagi made a face. She could have walked away from Yuki but it had been hard. Looking back, she should have probably ignored the other girl. Plus there was a part of her that thought that even if she hadn't let it slip the first time at the grocery store, it would probably have come out in the garage.

"How did she find out anyway?" Makoto asked.

"When we ran into each other the last time she accused me of being a dropout. I set her straight." Usagi said. She had put up with a lot of things from Yuki but letting her claim she was a middle school dropout she hadn't been able to let fly.

"I can't blame you." Makoto agreed making a face. To accuse someone like that made her angry.

"I, somehow, keep running into her." Usagi admitted. "I don't know if I just have bad luck or... I think I made things worse."

"How does one make the situation worse?" Makoto asked frowning slightly. Trying to think how one could actually manage to make a situation with Yuki worse. Yuki was already bad enough to contend with normally. But this sounded worse than normal.

"I got her angry." Usagi admitted rubbing her arm slightly. "Yuki Accused me of buying my friends. I pointed out her own actions and how she used money to get out of things. She got physical." Usagi admitted.

"Physical how?" Makoto asked eyes narrowing. At first glance Usagi didn't look hurt but who knew if she was hiding something. "I'm fine. REALLY!" Usagi insisted seeing the doubtful look Makoto was giving her. "One of my other friends caught me before I hit the ground."

"She  _pushed_  you  **off**  something?" Makoto's voice jumped a couple of octaves ignoring Usagi's gestures to please quiet down. "And  _why_  wasn't this friend there to-"

"She already blames herself for not being there before Yuki pushed me." Usagi said breaking off before Makoto could go into a full rant. Haruka had never actually said directly she felt guilty for not being there before at least not in those exact words. Usagi had seen the look in the girl's eyes and her recent behavior seemed more protective. The only thing she could think of for sure was that she was blaming herself for not being there to protect her from Yuki. Making a note that she should really introduce Makoto and Haruka to each other at some point. With the duo's protective streaks, she had a feeling they would really hit it off.

Makoto took a deep breath trying to calm down. "Sorry. You're really not hurt?"

"I was a bit shaken, but I wasn't hurt." Usagi admitted. "After one of my other friends got there one of them grabbed security." Usagi frowned thinking back to the situation for a moment. "Actually, it's a good thing security was grabbed." Usagi muttered in self-realization. She had been a too shaken at the time to think how things would have probably escalated from there. Now that she was thinking about it…she was fairly sure that the only reason Haruka hadn't gotten physical was because she had been too distracted with her to pay attention to whatever comment Yuki had uttered that had ended in Michiru slapping her. Probably, if things had continued it wouldn't have been pretty. "One of my friends, she wouldn't hurt a fly if she could help it. I've never even heard her yell at anyone. She  _actually slapped_ Yuki." Usagi admitted, still sort of in awe at the display even now.

"Good." Makoto looked rather vindicated that at least  _someone_  had done so. That slap had probably been a very long time coming. Before something else popped up in her head brought on by the school rumor mil.."Well, I guess that's where that rumor came from." Makoto commented to herself.

"Rumor?" Usagi asked looking at her in surprise.

"Yeah school rumor has it she got in trouble with some security while out shopping." Makoto explained.

Usagi made a face remembering the incident. "Yeah. Probably the only time she's gotten in trouble for doing something like that." And even then, she wasn't sure Yuki wouldn't get anything more than a light slap on the wrist.

"Usagi. I'm really glad you're not hurt." Makoto said suddenly hugging Usagi, catching her off guard. Part of her wondering why Yuki had gone after Usagi. She hadn't known the girl that long but for the most part, she seemed like the type that wouldn't hurt anyone. What could she have done that had made Yuki go after her? But then again Yuki didn't seem like the type to need a reason to do what she did.

"Thank you." Usagi said giving her a smile. At least she had gotten out of this unscathed this time. Seeing Makoto's eyebrows shoot up. Crap she had said that last part out loud hadn't she? Makoto stopped hugging her and looked at her.

"Usagi exactly what did she do to you?" Makoto asked raising an eyebrow starring her dead in the eyes.

"More like what didn't she do." Usagi muttered more to herself than to Makoto while looking away fidgeting.

Makoto opened her mouth for a second to ask for a better explanation before thinking better of it. Part of Makoto really wanted an explanation or at least an elaboration behind it. But as things were she needed to stay on Juuban's administration's good side, unfortunately. She hated it. Makoto wanted nothing more than to be able to give Yuki a piece of her mind but she was walking on thin ice as is. They could easily pull the clearance to have a job if they wanted to. She had a feeling if she knew the exact details she would have a hard time not getting physical with Juuban's "darling child". She was caught between a rock and a hard place, and she  _ **hated**_  it. Maybe she could do something later….

"Thank you." Usagi said after a moment of silence, unsaid went 'for the details I'm not comfortable discussing right now'. She had talked so much about what had happened between her and Yuki lately she was getting tired of it. She knew the conversations were needed and, in some cases, unavoidable but it was hard enough without repeating it so many times over and over again.

"This is probably easier. If I knew I'm not sure I could stop myself. I'm on thin ice with my job and keeping clearance to have one." Makoto admitted pinching her nose slightly. Speaking of which, Makoto glanced up at the clock on the nearby wall before speaking again. "Sorry, I can't stay for long. I was just blowing off some steam before I had to get to work. My boss is going to see the doctor today, so I can't afford to be late. I just had a bit of spare time, so I ended up here." She didn't have to be at work quite yet so she could still hang out, but she was going to have leave soon.

"You got a job at the arcade?" Usagi asked in surprise. She hadn't heard of the Arcade needing more workers but then again, she really hadn't been paying that much attention to that kind of thing recently. Though now that she thought about Makoto had said something about going to a doctor. Motoki had looked just fine when she had walked past a few minutes ago.

"No. I'm working down the road at the Hikawa Shrine. Apparently, the last shrine hand up and quit without warning. Since I was looking for a job and they were looking for a hand I ended up working there." Makoto explained.

"The school didn't give you any trouble over getting a job?" Usagi asked in surprised. Considering how much of a fit they had thrown over her other stuff it was hard to imagine otherwise.

"Oh, they weren't happy. There was a lot of long conversations with the admins, but I finally got them to agree." Makoto admitted. There had been enough conversations to make her head spin, but she had eventually gotten their permission. Her best guess as to why they had given permission was they were hoping the distraction from work would keep her out of trouble. She wasn't entirely sure.

"Go figure. I can't get them to do a few simple tasks but agreeing to let you take an after-school job is no problem." Usagi muttered to herself. She was glad Makoto had gotten the job and wouldn't get in trouble with the school admin but there ever-changing opinion on what they allowed was kind of annoying. Actually, more than annoying, but she was no longer there so she didn't want to put the effort into thinking about how backwards things could get at Juuban.

"Juuban's weird that way." Makoto agreed. "And it wasn't easy. I think they might have only greenlit my application because they were hoping it would keep me out of trouble."

"I am happy for you." Usagi said smiling slightly. And she did mean it. It might be more than slightly annoying on how hypocritical the school was in how they handled their students at times, but she was glad the admins weren't being a pain to everyone who needed assistance.

"Thanks. I'm trying to save up to open my own bakery, so this should help." Makoto admitted. Well, it wasn't the only reason, but it was one of them.

"Never thought of you as the type." Usagi admitted with a slight grin. It was kind of funny to picture the tall brunette in the kitchen. But if it made her happy, so be it.

"Love it. My friends back home used to rave about my cooking." Makoto said before her face got sad. Usagi pulled out of her pocket a piece of paper and scribbled down her number.

"Here. If you ever need to talk or text feel free." Usagi said handing the slip of paper which Makoto took after hesitating for a second.

"Thank you." Makoto said before frowning. "Crap I hate to cut this short but if I don't leave I'm going to be late for work."

"Better run then." Usagi said waving her off. "Be careful on your way to work!"

* * *

"You still haven't talked to him?" Usagi asked a bit surprised when she ran into Masato arriving at Naru's house. He was headed home as she was headed in apparently. Some pleasantries had been exchanged and when she had asked about how talking to the probable Earth Prince had gone. He had admitted he hadn't had a chance to do so yet.

"The problem is, I still don't know where to start with him. I can't exactly go up to him and say. 'Hi. I was your bodyguard in a previous life that you may or may not remember'." Masato pointed out. Talking to a teenage prince, even one he was supposed to have known, was  _difficult_.

"You're a billionaire. You own a big company. Hire him." Usagi pointed out. She was surprised that the thought hadn't occurred to Masato before. Well then again not everyone could have a job in high school. "At least then you'll have a reason to talk to him, right?"

"I would be his boss." Masato said after a moment of thought. It wasn't the world's worst idea on one hand. On the other, even if his own memories were still not whole, he still had years of subservience to the prince and then to Queen Beryl. Having someone that he had reported to in a previous life now reporting to him would be difficult.

"You obviously don't have any better ideas or else you would have talked to him by now." Usagi argued. She could see how that could be awkward. Her point still stood!

"I don't even know if he needs or is looking for a job. I additionally, don't know if his school will approve him for one." Masato said pacing for a moment. The idea was starting to grow on him but there were still obstacles in the way to implement the plan.

"I know he's worked odd jobs before. One time I ran into him at the same photo contest you were running. Apparently, he keeps picking up odd jobs to help maintain his motorcycle." Usagi said ticking off the couple of things she remembered about the probable Earth Prince off the top of her head. Really there wasn't that much to go off of.

"Great. My prince was reborn as a 'bad boy'." Masato said nearly facepalming. What in the world had he been doing growing up that made him decide to pick up a motorcycle? Something to research later he guessed.

"I wouldn't really describe Mamoru as a  _bad_  boy from the interactions with him." Usagi said after a moment. She had a hard time imagining walking around in leather clothing. He just didn't seem like the type. "Haruka likes motorcycles. She's  _definitely_  not what people think of as 'bad girl'."

"That is true." Masato sighed. "I'll look into it." It was definitely the best idea that had come up recently. And if the prince was going through a bad boy phase maybe he could steer him out of it.

* * *

"Do you always tag along when you know Makoto's on the job?" Rei asked crossing her arms. A day later Usagi had decided to tag along with Makoto to check out the shrine Makoto was working at because she really didn't have anything better to do. Her and Naru had been planning to get together to compare notes between their classes to see the differences but Naru had had to cancel for whatever reason. That had left her wandering Juuban until Haruka could come and get her, bored until she had decided to go visit the shrine Makoto worked at. This had the shrine priestess, Rei, apparently questioning why she kept showing up. Really, it was just her second visit.

"I was supposed to meet with someone else but they had to cancel at the last minute. The shrine was nearby." Usagi answered Rei. Well, technically that only applied to today. The first time she had followed Makoto to work she was just plain curious and hadn't had prior plans. She had come back into her old neighborhood because she had just felt the need to get out of the triangle and away from the others for a few hours. So, she had ended up at the shrine for a bit. Today she was here because she really did not have anything else to do.

"That seems to be happening a lot. Don't you have other friends who aren't working to bother?" Rei asked crossing her arms. Okay, she was reaching at that point. She had been over to the shrine twice now.

"I don't have that many friends that live around here outside of Makoto. Besides, you're making a fuss and I've only been here once before. This is only my second time at your shrine." Usagi said shrugging. Well okay, friends might still be a strong word for her relationship with the brunette, but she wasn't sure acquaintances was the right word either.

"I find that hard to believe." she thought she heard Rei say.

"Rei, with all due respect, you've met me twice." Usagi said frowning slightly. She guessed Makoto hadn't mentioned either of their problems with making friends at Juuban or else that comment wouldn't have flown.

"Sorry." Rei apologized turning a slight shade of red.

"Just no more assumptions please, and we'll call it even." Usagi said waving off the concern.

"Usagi. We need to get going. Ms. Hino." Michiru said coming up behind Usagi greeting the shrine priestess. Looks like her ride was here at least the conversation was getting cut off before it could get any more awkward.

"Ms. Kaioh." Rei returned the greeting, "I haven't seen you around since the buses around here stopped disappearing. I assume you got what you needed sorted out?"

Michiru couldn't remember what excuse they had given Rei at the time. Just that it was something to throw her suspicion off from them and towards Jadeite who has been masquerading as a shrine aid at the time. Plus, the talk they had had though couldn't exactly be about the Senshi had helped some with her early days of being a senshi when she was still a bit lost on how to handle to things. "Yes, we did, thank you for the advice."

"I am surprised that you seem to know Ms. Usagi." Rei admitted glancing between the two. Usagi didn't seem like the type to run in the same circles that she knew the Kaioh's ran in.

"We became friends before Usagi transferred to Mugen Gaken." Michiru explained. "How did you two meet?"

"I followed Makoto over one day from the arcade once. Today I thought with Haruka busy it'd be a peaceful place to wait for you." Usagi answered.

"Makoto is a shrine hand we recently took on with grandfather falling ill." Rei answered what she was sure was going to be the next question.

"Ah. I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather. I hope he feels better soon." Michiru said. The man had seemed a bit eccentric the last time her and Haruka had been here. But not bad.

"Thank you." Rei said.

"We should get going Usagi." Michiru reminded the girl who had wandered off for a bit during the conversation to talk to Makoto.

"Ah right. See you around Makoto, Rei." Usagi called as she followed Michiru back down the shrine steps.

"How do you and Rei know each other?" Usagi asked Michiru glancing back at the top of the shrine steps where she could see Rei heading back into the shrine grounds. The way they had talked suggested they had met at least a couple of times before.

"Her father works for the government, so we had met a few times prior in passing due to family obligations. I didn't visit the shrine for the first time until the bus incident." Michiru explained.

"Wait that was  _this_  shrine?" Usagi asked a bit surprised. She knew the whole bus thing had gone down somewhere in Juuban, but she had never actually found out what shrine it was. Glancing back up again she wondered what had got the Dark Kingdom's attention about it. It looked like your every day Shinto shrine.

"Yes." Michiru answered.

"How did you two get involved with that whole plot anyway? Did she ask for help?" Usagi asked. Rei seemed to be very independent from what she had seen so far and heard from Makoto. She had a feeling that Makoto had gotten the job only out of necessity on the shrine's part, otherwise who knows where she would be working?

"No. Waters flow in mysterious ways. It was a coincidence." Michiru said before going quiet, thinking about the parallels between Rei's family and her own. Rei had her grandfather and her shrine, but she avoided her father. Michiru got along with her youngest sister the best out of all of them with her relationship with her older sister improving due to necessity. Her parents? Ever since they had found out about Haruka they had considerably distanced themselves. They hadn't cut her off completely, otherwise, she wouldn't still have access to her family's things, like the beach house but she partly suspected that was due in fact to that Haruka could pass as a guy and did on a frequent basis.

"How did you end up here anyway? You mentioned following the brunette, Makoto, but I've never seen her before." Michiru noted frowning.

"Oh, Makoto and I first met the night of the 'walking fiancées'. We kind of hit it off during that brief period I was staying at Naru's. She transferred in after I left Juuban. Apparently, with me gone Yuki has been bothering her instead." Usagi explained. Usagi made a bit of a face as she recalled some of their conversations. "According to Mako-chan, Yuki has gotten worse since the grocery store incident." Usagi said after a moment. She really tried not to think about Yuki and her groupies unless she had to. Makoto was at least tall and strong enough that she probably wouldn't have to deal with the more physical aspects of Yuki's assault that she had dealt with. At least she hoped not.

"Glad you two aren't in the same school anymore." Michiru said.

"That makes both of us." Usagi agreed. She had yet to deal with any Yuki-like people at Mugen personally though that might be a matter of them being scared off by Haruka. Judging by what Hotaru went through there were definitely some people there that had Yuki like behavior but none of them had gone after her yet. Would be interesting to see if that changed if Haruka missed a day of class for some reason.

* * *

Apparently, at some point along the line, Naru had been associated with them enough as the sailor senshi to gain a slight reputation of such, or at least be suspected of being connected to them. Really, when you thought about it the number of times Naru had been around for some various plot she was probably the one civilian who had been spotted near them the most.

So in hindsight when Mako started getting concerned that there might be a bit more to the Hikawa shrine priest's behavior she had passed her concern along to her hoping it would get passed on to the senshi. Naru hadn't gone into too many details about the exact conversation but had mentioned trying to downplay the connection though who knew how well that went.

It did raise a concern if other civilians were realizing that she was around frequently for various plots, what was stopping the Dark Kingdom from connecting the dots and realizing her possible connection with them? Or that Naru's other friends were the Senshi. It was a concern going forward they were probably going to have to address at some point. Even if Mako approaching her seemed to be a bit of an odd decision considering they recently set up a phone line for just this kind of thing. Then again, this meant they knew about a possible issue without it having to be filtered out by the government.

"Well, it's a bit of a surprise but you are around us a lot." Usagi conceded. They had been talking about how Mako had approached Naru as an interesting choice. Admittedly Naru being there was more by chance than by choice at times. But then again there were the times where Naru had gotten herself directly involved with the youma plots. Particularly when Masato was still Nephrite.

"True. Makoto asked if you could check out the head priest at the shrine she's working at. Apparently, he's been acting weird for the last week or so after some blond-haired guy showed up and caused him to hit his head." Naru explained.

"He also hit his head. The whole reason Kino got hired, according to you two, is because Hino needed someone to watch the shrine while she took him to a doctor. I hate to be that person but are we sure it isn't just a problem caused by that?" Haruka asked. It was possible that the blond-haired guy was Zoisite but blond haired ponytail guy wasn't a big description to go off of either.

"We could always ask Sestuna her opinion. She would have probably the best idea out of all of if the behavior Mako saw was caused by the head injury." Usagi pointed out. Sestuna was the only one of them that had actual background medical knowledge after all.

"While that may be a valid point, we can't afford to be lax with the Rainbow Crystals in play. If he is a Great Warrior, we can't just sit by and let a Rainbow Crystal slip out of our reach. Especially if Zoisite is the cause of all this." Luna said. Haruka had a valid point but there was also a possibility that this was entirely Dark Kingdom related.

"Shouldn't whatever shrine protections exist keep Zoisite from getting into the grounds?" Hotaru asked curiously. It was a religious shrine. She would have thought that the energy from someone from the Dark Kingdom wouldn't be able to get into the shrine grounds.

"Unfortunately, no. Jadeite was working there during the whole bus incident. Obviously, whatever protections they had around the shrine don't bother the Shittennou." Michiru pointed out. It was kind of odd though when you thought about it. A Shinto shrine was a holy place so technically the Shittennou shouldn't be able to set foot on the grounds of the shrine. Yet, now it looked like two of them had been able to cross through the shrine barrier. Maybe it dealt with the fact they were human, brainwashed humans yes, but still very human?

"So should we just start hanging out around the shrine then until Zoisite finally rears his head again?" Haruka asked.

"Rei's going to love that idea." Usagi muttered sarcastically. She wasn't quite sure what kept setting the other girl off when she was at the shrine but she doubted her having to hang out there for a prolonged period was going to endear her to the shrine priestess. "Maybe I should just show up, heshined, and try using the spell like we did with the painter and Hercules? That way we get the crystal and we don't set Rei off by accident?" Usagi suggested. Honestly if what Luna said was true if the old man wasn't a crystal holder then the spell wouldn't affect them. And it would give them an even bigger upper hand on the Dark Kingdom.

"Usagi, you just are finally getting over that whole debacle with Hercules. I don't think that's the best idea." Luna pointed out. Usagi had been trying to hide it but she had noticed the girl had been a bit more sluggish in the aftermath of the healing. She was pretty much back to normal, but it might not be the best idea to keep straining her like this. Even if this was the easiest solution but it might not be the best one.

"If Zoisite's already shown up it won't require the same amount of effort to get this crystal." Usagi argued. Besides she was pretty much recovered from the whole Hercules thing anyway. She should be fine.

"I am not having you knock yourself out for a week again. My answer's final." Luna said. Okay a week might be exaggerating it but none of them really knew how much Usagi would be drained if this rate kept up. With the stakes with the Dark Kingdom getting higher they couldn't really afford for anyone to be out for a long period.

"Besides showing up as the Sailor Senshi might set her off more. She's probably already on edge from her grandfather being hurt." Michiru pointed out. Despite having government backing she didn't think crossing the Hinos was the best idea.

"It can't be worse than showing up for several days on end looking for Zoisite. At least if we show up in Senshi garb we have an excuse to be there." Usagi argued. Even if it would make things more difficult be she would rather just use the compact to check if he was a crystal carrier and call it a day. Rather than have to engage Zoisite, possibly fight him, and the youma, and heal the youma. It would take several steps out of the whole process.

"I am going to side with Usagi, partly, on this one. I don't think we should show up in Senshi garb and try healing him without an explanation but I don't think showing up at the shrine for several days is the solution either. The solution lies with the compact, it can act as a homing beacon to the crystals. We'll use the compact to check if he is a crystal holder rather then wait for Zoisite to show up. Forall we know Zoisite could show up again in the middle of the night and if he does we would be completely out of luck." Luna said closing the argument. Zoisite showing up would be the preferred solution in a way at the moment since it meant the crystal extraction wouldn't go to Usagi. Healing him would, but that technically should be a lot less strenuous on her. Luna still didn't like it but she suspected Usagi would act on her own if she didn't concede on this point at least. The girl had a valid point, as much as it pained her to admit it on this issue.

* * *

"Today is Makoto's day off so if you're here to see her then you've come on the wrong day." Rei greeted her when she came by a couple of days later. Today she was just checking to see if Rei's grandfather really was another crystal holder. So, Makoto didn't need to be there though it would have given her an excuse. Rei had gotten a bit less defensive, though not by much, since their last conversation. Seemed like she had taken Usagi had told her seriously.

"I came for a short visit because I like it here. The view is here gorgeous. This must have one of the views in all of Tokyo." Usagi admitted. It was true actually. She loved how much of the city you could see from the top of the hill the shrine at. It must be beautiful at night to look out on the city.

That got a small smile out of Rei. "Only Tokyo Tower beats it. Glad to know someone else appreciates it besides Grandpa and I."

"How's your grandfather doing?" Usagi asked. Regardless of whether or not he was a rainbow crystal holder she did genuinely want to know how he was doing.

Rei frowned slightly at that. "You heard about that?" She hadn't told Makoto not to talk about it but she hopped the brunette used discretion when talking about that topic.

"Mako mentioned it. She brought it up when she told me she got the job here." Usagi confessed. "No real details just said she was looking after the shrine for the afternoon while you took him to the doctor." She didn't want Mako to get in trouble for possibly saying something she shouldn't have, and she had seen Rei tense up slightly when she realized she knew about it. Especially when she really hadn't told her anything to begin with.

"Yeah, he took a fall the other day, so we took him in to get checked out. Other than a mild concussion the doctors said he was fine. He's been acting like he is half his age since then. I am just afraid he's going to hurt himself again at this rate." Rei admitted blowing out air in frustration. She still didn't know what exactly had caused the fall. She had found him after and he didn't remember what had actually happened.

Usagi wasn't really sure what to say to that. She remembered the doctors had warned her about the long list of possible side effects from having a concussion, one of which could be a personality change. Thankfully, her's hadn't caused that. Though recovering from it hadn't been the easiest even without that side effect. "If you ever want to talk about it I'm always open. I took a rather nasty fall myself before the winter holidays. Ended up in the hospital for a few days because of it."

"What happened?" Rei asked taking the offered slip with Usagi's cell on it with a frown.

Usagi shook her head. "I would rather not talk about the semantics of what happened. At least in my case, it wasn't an accident."

"School bullies?" Rei guessed. She dealt with people saying things behind her back about her psychic abilities. No one had tried to physically confront her about it. At Usagi's nod in confirmation. "Wouldn't the school have stopped them before they escalated that far?"

Usagi let out a dry laugh at that. "The school admin had it out for me, I'm pretty sure. They never once lifted a finger to help me in the entire time I attended Juuban unless they absolutely had to. Most of the time I was on my own outside of one teacher and a couple of friends."

Rei visibly cringed at that.

"My school now is much better since I transferred to Mugen." Usagi assured. There was still the concern on how the Mugen administration would react if Hotaru's bullies went after her. So, she guessed she wouldn't know for sure until whenever the day came that she brushed against some bullies who had an interest in her.

She was brought out of her thoughts as an older man seemed to appear out of thin air asking. "Hello, young maiden would you like to train under me as a shrine priestess?"

"What?" Usagi asked a bit faintly. She hadn't been expecting this when Mako had mentioned odd behavior by him.

"Grandpa! I told you before you're doing too much. You don't need another trainee. You're doing perfectly fine teaching myself and Makoto on how to care for the shrine." Rei said before Usagi could muster a response to the request.

"Ah, but don't you enjoy having more people your age around the shrine?" Rei's grandfather asked turning away from Usagi and addressing Rei.

"Grandpa, I'm fine, really." Rei assured him. The thought was sweet she guessed but she really was okay with it just being her and her grandfather and Makoto on occasion.

"If you say so." Rei's grandfather said after a moment before disappearing off to another part of the shrine.

"Sorry. He's been asking that of everyone that he sees at the shrine." Rei said sounding a bit exasperated. "I keep telling him while the idea is sweet I'm perfectly fine. I'm not sure how I'll handle it if he gets someone to say yes."

"It's alright." Usagi said waving off the concern. She had been around worse behavior after all. Though well she could see why Makoto thought that his behavior might be a bit off. And actually, she realized as she glanced down at the compact that was lightly glowing in a corner of her bag. She was right. The behavior wasDark Kingdom related.

* * *

It hadn't taken the others long to get there once she called them to tell them that Mako had been right. This was a Dark Kingdom plot. However, what they hadn't counted on was for Zoisite to have made another move before they got there. As he was just disappearing Rainbow Crystal in hand as they reached the top of the steps.

"Saturn get her to a safe distance." Moon told the younger girl. This one was apparently capable of shooting fire balls. So, this was going to be dangerous enough for them even with the healing factor. Let alone a random civilian with no powers.

"But-" Rei began in protest. She knew she couldn't exactly fight what her Grandpa had just morphed into. But it was still her grandpa and she was concerned.

"He'll be fine once we heal him. We don't want you to get hurt by him in his transformed state." Saturn tried to assure her as she walked up. "We should move away from the fight and into the woods."

"I know a better spot." Rei said after a moment. She really didn't want to walk away from this, but this was outside her realm of expertise as much as she hated to admit. Considering whatever it was shooting fireballs it was probably not best to take cover in the woods. There was a spot she knew of outside the shrine that should be safe enough and out of danger.

"As long as it's out of the way of the fight." Saturn agreed as the two scurried off.

"We're going to have to knock him out if we want to heal him I think." Uranus realized as they scattered away from another fireball of the youma's.

"But if he already hit his head once then…." Moon trailed off there. Problem was they probably could knock him out but she wasn't sure if there was a way to keep him from hitting his head again. Too bad she didn't have any sleeping spells. She wasn't even sure if that was a thing though. Maybe something to nag Luna about later.

"Then hitting his head again would just make it worse." Neptune said following her train of thought.

"I have an idea." Saturn said coming back having left Rei for the moment. "Luna's been working with me on a defensive spell. If I can hold it do you think you can get the healing spell cast on him without having to deal with knocking him out again?"

"I didn't know any of us had defensive spells." Neptune noted. That was a nice thing that would have been good to know about before. Admittedly this was only Saturn's second time in a fight. So it wasn't too shocking it hadn't come up before.

"Not everyone does. I have one and I know Mercury has the defensive wall counterpart in the Inner Senshi. Hers is less of a physical wall when compared to mine." Saturn said frowning slightly. Mercury's was a fog from what she understood while hers was an actual physical barrier.

"That is going to make things so much simpler." Moon commented to herself. Having a way to defend on top of being able to attack should, in theory, simplify some of their fights.

"Okay but even then, he's not worn down. You had a lot less problems healing the youmas that were already worn down from fighting then dealing with Yumemi and Hercules." Uranus pointed out as she shot off a Spiral Buster in warning as the youma started to wander a bit too close for comfort.

"I would think him just running around would ware himself out a bit." Moon pointed out. Yeah, it was a concern and if the rate kept going she was going to really knock herself out at some point. But the last two had never transformed into their youma counterparts before they had gotten involved.

"Look why don't we just wear him down a bit before you heal him, Moon. Saturn how long can you hold that wall of yours?" Neptune put in her two cents.

"I'm not entirely sure. I've only gotten to use it in practice." Saturn reminded them.

"I think this is as good as its going to get." Moon said a couple of minutes later after he had spent some time dodging the attack. He looked like he was starting to get pretty worn out. "Could use that wall right about now Saturn!"

"Silent Wall!" Saturn said a slightly visible barrier flickering to life in front of her glaive and the group. "Moon Healing Escalation!" Moon commanded almost as soon as the barrier was up. It took a few minutes and a lot of moving around because the youma was still moving so Moon had to keep repositioning herself to make sure he was in line with the spell. But eventually it took hold and the youma reverted back to being Rei's grandpa.

"That was a pain." Uranus commented. They had forgotten that with the youma still not knocked out or restrained they were going to have to move if it moved. She glanced back at Moon for a moment, who was at least still on her feet if looking a bit pale.

"I'm fine." Moon reassured them seeing the looks she was getting. She felt a bit more tired than normal, but she didn't exactly feel like she was going to pass out like she had after Hercules. That was an improvement.

"Moon. Make sure you rest after this." Neptune said frowning slightly. At least this time Moon hadn't passed out, however, the girl looked a bit pastier then normal and the way her shoulders slouched betrayed the fact that she was obviously tired. Healing the crystal carriers was a necessity but it was starting to become obvious the short time frames between dealing with the rainbow crystal carriers wasn't working to Moon's benefit.

Moon shook her head. "I'll be fine. We only have two more crystal carriers to worry about, right? I can get through them." She was going to have to.

"I'll go get Rei." Saturn said after a moment.

* * *

"I wonder…" Michiru trailed off for a moment with a frown turning to look back up at the shrine after they had apologized to both Rei and her grandpa they had ducked off and de-henshined. Haruka had gone ahead to get the car to drive. So it was just the five of them at the bottom of the stairs at the moment.

"What are you thinking Michiru?" Usagi asked when she didn't continue.

"This is where they had the bus incident back at the end of November. It seems like an odd coincidence now that there's been two Dark Kingdom incidences here." Michiru explained.

Usagi frowned at that. "Luna never mentioned if she had found any hot spots for Dark Kingdom activity. I know she was looking for some when we were spending that week at the beach. Maybe we should ask her about that again?"

"Hot spots?" Hotaru asked tilting her head slightly in confusion. This was the first she had heard of anything like this.

"Luna said when I asked her about it she just said that some areas are more likely to attract Dark Kingdom activity then others. And she was trying to find them a while back." Usagi explained shrugging slightly. "Not sure if she found any though."

"It seems odd that a shrine would be a natural Dark Kingdom hot spot." Hotaru pointed out.

"Maybe it's just bad luck?" Haruka suggested after a moment.

"That's some serious bad luck." Usagi said frowning slightly. There was bad luck like constantly tripping over the sidewalk and then there was this bad luck where it had attracted enemy attention again and she guessed two times being targeted wasn't horrible it was kind of interesting that the Dark Kingdom had returned here. She could think of anywhere else as of yet that had attracted the attention more than once.

* * *

_It began like a lot of her dreams of the Moon Kingdom_ _, i_ _n the gardens surrounding the Moon Palace. A lot of Serenity's memories seemed to be in the gardens_ _o_ _r at least the ones Usagi had remembered so far. She seemed to like it there_ _,_ _not that Usagi blamed her past self. It was a gorgeous place._

_What was a bit unusual this time was who else was in this memory. There weren't many memories she had of Uranus and Neptune's past selves. They had spent most of the time prior to the fall of the Moon Kingdom guarding the Silver Alliance from outside invasions. So, to see them at the Moon Palace was pretty rare. Her mother must have called them for one reason or another. And they were having a moment before they had to separate and return to their respective outposts._

_As she watched the two interact for a moment. Hands interlocking and just leaning into the other's touch she had this strange sense of strong longing overtake her. She watched for another moment as she tried to understand where the feeling was coming from again. It wasn't the first time she had felt it. It seemed when she rarely did see the Outer Court the feeling tended to occur. Why_ _was something_ _she didn't understand._

 _After a moment she decided to return to the center of the Moon Palace. As she walked away leaving the two to have their moment she found she had started crying. Why was she crying? Was it because she longed for that kind of relationship? It wasn't even an ideal relationship. Outside of the occasional reports they had to submit the two were mostly isolated to their posts. At least with Endymion, he would be by her side until the end of days. Those two were forced to separate because of their duty to the Silver Alliance. She guessed in time they would eventually retire and be able to_ _be_ _together without the interference of duty_ _b_ _ut that was a long way off. A good few decades at least._

_It didn't make any sense! She was happy with Endymion. He loved her, and they would bring in a new prosperous era to the Silver Alliance…so why did she feel this strong sense of longing every time she saw Uranus and Neptune?_

_She shook her head after a moment. It must have been because she wanted a similar relationship with him. For him to look at her like she was the center of his universe, the way she saw Uranus gazing at Neptune at times. That made the most sense after all! Choosing to ignore the niggling feeling of doubt in her gut that suggested otherwise._

_She was in love with Endymion. She had been in love with Endymion from the moment she had met him. So why was it that she kept feeling that she was forgetting extremely important? That she was forgetting a piece of herself. Why did she find herself longing so much for what they had? She had Endymion, right? She could get that same thing from him. There was no reason to suggest otherwise!_

" _Oh Serenity." Her mother had begun the next time she had seen her. She had brought up the whole incident with Uranus and Neptune. "Longing to have a good relationship when you're in the early stages of your own relationship with Endymion is normal_ _, e_ _specially when you see two people who appear to be as perfect as those two."_

 _Serenity chose to keep quiet she wasn't sure how well her mother was a good gauge of relationships. She was the only Queen of the Silver Alliance that was single. While that wasn't necessarily a bad thing (there had been several powerful rulers throughout the Silver Alliance's history who had ruled without a King or Queen at their side), it didn't make things easier either at times. Serenity had never even met her father or knew what to look for despite having asked before. She wasn't sure if he was dead or what the story_ _even was._ _She had heard some of the castle rumors pertaining to her and her heritage none of which were complimentary. However, she had learned growing up that sometimes it was best to keep her thoughts to herself so she had never confronted her mother specifically about whether any of them might be true. It might not end well._

_Her mother wasn't entirely unfeasible after all. She still remembered the time she had confessed to having a crush on the now Sailor Venus, her childhood friend Harmonia. She had seemed so cross at the time that her daughter had fallen for a princess and not a prince. It was probably the first time she had questioned her mother's true opinions on other people. Most members of the Silver Alliance didn't care so much as who ruled by your side as long as you were a good ruler. She hadn't even thought of the idea that her mother might have a different ideal until that day. It was a bit disturbing to her actually._

_As her thoughts flickered back to Uranus and Neptune the strong sense of longing returned. What her mother had said made sense that she would want an ideal relationship with Endymion. Like the one, she had seen. Hopefully, with time her and Endymion's relationship would evolve to be just that._

When Usagi shot up in bed shortly thereafter the memory ended she found herself crying again. Though just like her past self Usagi found herself confused as to why she was crying. Well, maybe not entirely confused she understood it went back to that strange sense of longing that came with seeing Uranus and Neptune in her past life. Even now she didn't understand why the feeling persisted.

After a moment she hopped off the bed and she waddled back into the living room deciding to leave the prosthetics off right now. It was later, she was going back to bed it would be more effort to put them on at this point. She probably should have just stayed in bed but she was hoping maybe staring at the skyline lit up by the moon would calm her in some form as she got onto the couch.

After a moment she found herself fidgeting around with the violet crystal she kept on a chain beside the green crystal. It wasn't the first dream she had had since the crystals had begun to surface. The crystals seemed to be bringing more and more of her memories during the Silver Alliance back however that dream had left her much more confused than usual. Most of them had been pretty straightforward. Childhood playing around with what she assumed were the Inner Senshi. Some court proceedings. On the rarer occasion she got memories with her mother or with Endymion. Memories with the Outer Senshi were an extremely rare event. She would have thought since she was now living with two of them that she would start to remember more of them but apparently not.

"Usagi?" Usagi turned slightly in surprise seeing Michiru coming into the living room. "It's awfully late."

"Just thinking about a dream, I had." Usagi told her. "The Moon is soothing."

"Tohoku?" Michiru guessed. There were pretty much two reasons for Usagi wanting to think about a dream. And if it was Usagi had dreamt of the Moon Kingdom that would be a wild coincidence.

Usagi shook her head. "No, the Silver Alliance this time. I've been getting more and more dreams about the Moon Kingdom as more of the rainbow crystals have been found."

"What was it about?" Michiru asked frowning slightly. She had had her own dream of the Silver Alliance that had woken her up. Though she doubted it was the exact same one.

"Just this one time I was watching you and Haruka in the palace gardens for a bit. Nothing major." Usagi said shaking her head slightly. Nothing that could help them really understand their pasts anyway. She didn't really feel like mentioning the weird longing sensation. Mainly because she felt that it would raise more questions that she didn't have answers too. Though now that she was thinking about it the dream had raised even more questions that she hadn't really thought about before. Particularly her relationship with the Inner Senshi back in the day.

"Did you observe people very often in the gardens?" Michiru asked raising an eyebrow. Usagi had never seemed like the people watching type outside of necessity and she had a hard time seeing her past self being much different. But who knew.

Usagi scrunched up her face in thought. "I'm not sure if that was a habit of mine. I know I liked going to the palace gardens a lot just going by the amount of memories I have of that place. The memories are so scattered and all over the place at times that I'm not sure much what else I enjoyed back then."

"What about you, what do you remember? I know you guys said before you don't remember much of the Moon Palace?" Usagi asked. It was backed up by what little she did remember. Haruka and Michiru being in her memories she was getting back was still a rare occurrence.

"Most of the memories I've been seeing are before Haruka and I were Sailor Senshi. After that everything gets a bit muddled." Michiru admitted concentrating for a moment on what she could recall of her past life. There wasn't really much to it. Typical princess stuff and things you would expect from being in training for being a Sailor Senshi she suspected. "I don't remember visiting the Moon Palace after we officially accepted our roles. If you saw us we obviously visited for one reason or another." It was a bit odd she would have thought they would have regained their memories from the last ones before the fall to the oldest ones. Not the other way around.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you two that much in the memories I got. But you were definitely there." Usagi said. She only had a handful of memories with those two in them but for some reason, they felt the clearest at times out of all of her Moon Kingdom memories. Even if her actions and emotions at times didn't make sense to her. "Though not that often from what I can recall."

"It makes sense." Michiru hummed slightly. "Our duty was to protect the Silver Alliance from outside invaders. We couldn't do that if we were constantly visiting the Moon Palace."

"That is true." Usagi agreed. A momentary silence fell over them. "I think I am going to go back to my room and try to sleep some more. Night Michiru." Usagi said before going back to her room.

"Night Usagi." Michiru said waving the other girl off. Michiru frowned thinking back on what Usagi had said for a moment. A haunting dream with a girl in a sheer dress in a garden. Soft lips, warm skin, large blue eyes, soft mewls and long silvery blond between her fingers. A dream that had brought her to the living room only to make her reach for the blond before her as she had in the dream. Much like Usagi's dream she had found it made no sense in the context of what she knew about her past life. Hopefully, time would give more answers than questions. So far all it was giving her was more questions.

"Michiru" Usagi's soft voice called out snapping Michiru out of her musings. "Are you alright? Haruka and I tried calling you." Michiru would feel the blood in her cheeks causing her to blush. Haruka was standing there in shorts and a tank top, clearly having been asleep before she came out. Haruka rose an eyebrow at her. "Couldn't sleep?" Michiru nodded her head before looking out the window. "Usagi had the right idea."

Usagi watched the two, the same feeling she had in her dream took hold as Haruka encircled Michiru and Michiru leaned into Haruka like they molded down to the soul. She was brought out of her musings by a tug. She hadn't realized her legs had brought her so close. Haruka's hand pulled on hers and she let it. The three of them sat leaning together under the stars and the moonlight.

End Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this week.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment. I do read them and sometimes they actually make me things of I forgot. So they are useful. Besides just making me grin at your reactions. Though I do enjoy reading your reactions too.
> 
> That's a wrap for this week. I'll see everyone on the 31st with the next chapter. Have a good weekend!


	22. Bête Noir De Chats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Surprise we're early this week. I'm implementing a new policy that if I'm traveling the week I'm posting or going to be out of town. I am going to post on the day I'm leaving. That means this chapter is, of course, going up today. And what would be the 14th normally will be going up on the 13th.
> 
> I will be back to normal every other Fridays on the 28th. This is just for weeks where I know I'm going to be busy and may forget otherwise.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 22

Bête Noir De Chats

The day got off to a bit of a rough start for Hercules, Megara, and their brood. One of the kits had decided to pass along just exactly what they had heard when over at Usagi's place the most recent time. The kits had been asking what in the world someone was trying to do to her when the word 'rape' had been brought up.

" _Where did you hear that?"_  Megara managed to ask once the shock had worn off. She could think of a few different places none of which made her particularly happy.

" _When we were spending that time with the girl, Usagi. She was talking to another friend of hers about someone nearly doing that. She just looked really sad mama."_ The oldest of their kits, Sarpedon, said.

Well, that wasn't entirely surprising to hear. She would look like that considering the sensitive nature of what had been talked about. " _She'll_   _be fine. It's just something that was difficult for her. Someone tried to hurt Usagi really badly. That is basically what it means."_  Though that was putting it mildly possibly.

" _You're going after the girl that's been hurting our friend, right?_ " Ajax another one of the older kits asked.

Megara mentally groaned. They had been trying to avoid letting the kittens know just what they were up to when they were left at Luna's owner's place. But obviously, someone had let it slip. Probably one of the strays that had gotten roped into it. Making a note to talk to the others about what they were telling the kits about their plans she looked at the small gathering of kits before her. Too late to go back now she supposed. " _Yes, we are."_

" _Well…some of us_ _want to help_ _._ " Sarpedon, one of the older kits, insisted.

Megara hesitated for a moment thinking. Normally she would have said no but that being said the kits were small enough they could possibly get places and do things that the adults in the group wouldn't be able to do as easily. " _No promises. I'll see what I can do but you all must promise to do_ _ **exactly**_ _as we say if you're allowed to help_ _."_  She finally decided. Not a yes, not a no. Just a maybe until they had had more time to process and throw the idea around. Some of the kits that had been with Usagi were starting to get old enough to make their own decisions. If they really wanted to get involved there wasn't much in the way to stop them.

" _Do_   _you think Luna knows about all this?"_  Hercules asked turning to Megara once the kittens had left. He was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question already, but he needed his mate to say it. Based on what they knew of all this and Luna's evasiveness about just what this girl had done to her owner, he was not fairly certain she knew.

Megara shook her head after a moment. " _She_ _ **has**_ _to know. At the very least it explains why she was reluctant to tell us everything her owner had been put through."_ Something told her Luna hadn't expected her to start talking about this subject and she herself could understand why.

* * *

"Motoki I know your hurting from the break up with Reika but is flirting with a middle school brunette the best idea...?" Mamoru wondered to himself. He knew Motoki was still hurting over Reika's decision to break up with him so she could freely study abroad. Honestly, he was of the opinion that if Reika wasn't willing to try a long distance relationship before cutting it off then she probably wasn't the one, not that he was going to tell Motoki that, however going after this new girl didn't seem to be the best solution either.

"Mamoru, long time no see!" Usagi greeted coming up behind him bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Usagi…the uniform's new." Mamoru said turning to her a bit surprised. Last time he had seen her during the school year she had been wearing the Juuban uniform. Then again, they had been both so busy they hadn't run into each other lately.

"Yeah, I got accepted into Mugen Gaken's specialty program over the break. It's been helping." Usagi admitted.

"Congrats. I imagine that must have been very good for you." He was a bit surprised she had gotten in but from what he knew about her there was a good chance she had gotten in through one of their medical testing programs. It was probably closer to self-paced then a regular class structure, which probably did help a lot.

"School's still hard at times but there are less problems to deal with at Mugen." Usagi admitted. Due to her program's structure, she had less concerns and stress about learning materials and keeping up with things when compared to her fellow year mates though that didn't stop certain subjects like math from being difficult at times. "How are things on your end?" She wondered if Masato had ever taken her up on the advice to hire Mamoru.

"Going good. Got another new job." Mamoru said. Confirming to Usagi that probably Masato had finally approached him. Or someone that worked for Masato. Something to formally bug him about later at least. "Hopefully this one goes better than the last few." It seemed like he kept running into Dark Kingdom plots.

"Still ending up places with the strange monsters?" Usagi asked. He seemed to have a natural tendency to show up where the youma were. Which may be on purpose if their line of thinking was right in that he was the former Earth Prince.

"Yeah, that's an unfortunate reoccurring problem. Though, come to think of it, who isn't nowadays?" Mamoru asked. With the creatures showing up every which place it was kind of hard to avoid them if you lived in Juuban.

"That's true." Usagi agreed. Though she really couldn't speak much of what classified as a normal experience since her encounters were entirely senshi based. "Makoto…" Usagi said a bit exasperated catching sight of the brunette Mamoru had been watching. She had been hoping the other girl had gotten past her whole crush thing but if she was pursuing Motoki she doubted it. At least this time it looked like maybe the feelings went both ways versus the whole thing with the gamer dude who to her had been using Makoto. She didn't really think Motoki Furuhata, who generally was an all-around sweet guy, would mistreat or use Makoto the way the last one had done.

"She's a friend of yours?" Mamoru asked.

"Yeah. We've talked a lot when we've run into each other in the arcade. Outside of a handful of times, we usually have met here at the arcade." Usagi admitted. None the less she felt comfortable calling Makoto her friend. Regardless of how not so well there schedules meshed at times. There was just something familiar about her and comfortable. Somehow using anything else to describe her didn't feel quite right. A thought struck Usagi and she frowned. "I thought Motoki had a long-term girlfriend."

"He did. She's taking a semester abroad in Africa, so she decided to break things off with him." Mamoru answered. Really considering Reika's track record, the break up wasn't the biggest shock. Actually, it might have been a bigger one if they had managed to stay together while she was in Africa. This, however, was the first time he could remember Motoki trying to move past to another girl.

"Ick. If that's the reason she gave then maybe it's for the best." Usagi said making a face. Quitting before the going got tough was no way to pursue a relationship in her mind. She felt bad for Motoki but maybe Reika hadn't been the best match for him.

"I agree with you, but I don't know if becoming interested in someone younger than him is the best way to get over Reika." Mamoru commented frowning slightly.

Usagi quietly chewed her lip worried for her friend. It wasn't so much she didn't want Makoto to find someone eventually, but she wasn't sure if being someone's possible bounce back was a good idea either.

"He's been together with Reika for so long I don't remember him showing interest in anyone else." Mamoru said massaging his forehead.

* * *

It took Usagi a while to get a chance to confront Makoto about Motoki. First, she had to find her when she was off work (she doubted Rei would appreciate her showing up when Mako was supposed to be working to talk about personal relationships). Second, she had to actually be on that side of town. Which considering she now lived closer to Mugen Gaken was a bit less common then it used to be. Then it had taken a couple of tries to even get on that subject matter. The first attempt to bring up the subject ended up getting derailed into a completely different territory.

"Yuki's been out the last few days, so class has been almost peaceful for once." Makoto said. Most of Yuki's 'friends' were steering clear of her now that their ringleader was out. Funny how they lost interest in her the minute they had no one to guide them.

"Really?" Usagi blinked in surprise. She couldn't remember Yuki ever missing school in the entire time she had been at Juuban. But then again there might have been days when they were both out so she just didn't know about it. "Is she sick?"

"Not that I know of. Just absent. Maybe dealing with the whole security problem you mentioned." Makoto noted. "Though there's something else…She's been having a string of nasty luck lately. Ruined clothes, someone putting stuff in her food, stuff like that. No one's come forward claiming responsibility for it but since most of it seems to be happening at school some people are thinking it's a former victim of hers finally getting back." Makoto explained. It wasn't that much of a stretch. Based on some of the rumors she had heard in the past about Yuki's exploits she was honestly surprised it had taken this long for someone to fight back.

"You don't think that?" Usagi asked a bit curiously.

"No. I overheard some of her 'friends' talking. The nasty luck's been going on at home too. If that's the case, then it can't be someone at school." Makoto pointed out. No one would be dumb enough to sneak into another person's house to continue the revenge she was pretty sure.

"Right because if it is happening at home that means its someone who has access to her house and I think she's an only child." Usagi realized where Makoto was going. Or at least she believed Yuki was an only child. She kind of genuinely hoped she was an only child. If Yuki had siblings that meant either one of two things. One, there was someone having to possibly deal with Yuki's behavior against them 24/7 or there was someone who acted way to similar to Yuki but younger. That meant a second generation of kids might have to put up with what she went through.

"Exactly." Makoto confirmed.

"When did all of this start?" Usagi asked curiously.

"About two weeks ago." Makoto answered. Usagi blinked a couple of times, the timing was interesting, to say the least. That would put it back when she had finally told the others about the hell she had lived through and when Luna had asked her to babysit the kittens. Which brought up an interesting question. "Mako when you say ruined things what do you mean?"

"Sometimes after PE class, she's come back to find holes in her skirt or blouse or both. Other times it smelled like it had cat pee all over it." Makoto said making a face. That thankfully had been rarer, but it was never pleasant to sit through. "The food when it was targeted wouldn't be edible either, looked almost regurgitated. She actually was starting to take her lunch off campus to avoid that concern." Usagi almost let out a snort at that. Of course, the school would throw a fit about her wanting to eat off campus, but the minute little miss Yuki wanted it she was given it with no questions asked.

Though now that she was thinking about it Usagi frowned slightly. This was starting to sound suspiciously like some of what she had told Luna about that time period. With the exception of the physical harm part apparently. She had a feeling though if she tried to confront Luna about it the cat would deny it. Though Mako hadn't clarified when she meant by stuff in the food if it was Luna she had a feeling she might know what that 'stuff' was.

"You look like your deep in thought." Makoto noted.

"Just thinking about some of the stuff that's been done to her reminds me of some of the stuff she put me through," Usagi admitted. Some of it was more than a bit similar then what she had been put through.

"She did all of that to you?" Makoto said raising an eyebrow.

"All of that and then some." Usagi admitted.

"Then some…?" Makoto trailed off in confusion and then seemed to remember something. "Wait is she why you ended up in the hospital before Christmas?"

Guess Rei must have mentioned it to her since Usagi was pretty sure she hadn't shared that before. Well, it wasn't like she had told Rei not to talk about it at least. "Her 'friends' that were caught on camera causing the injury that landed me in the hospital. They got expelled but since there was nothing to tie directly back to her she got to stay. After that, she backed off. The school must have issued her a warning of some sorts." She frowned after a moment. "I thought you didn't want details?"

Makoto made a face. "I kind of do, but again, the school administration is an issue. If I get in trouble with her I might have to give up my job. I doubt I could win any particular argument involving her." Yuki tended to get her riled up but as much as it made her mad she needed that job and letting herself go against the administration would not end well for her.

"The school administration loves her for some reason. No idea why." Usagi agreed. "Every time it was me versus her specifically they always sided with her. Any chance they got to make my life more difficult they took. I don't blame you."

"I'm sorry." Makoto said after a moment.

Usagi shook her head. "It's not your fault. Besides, at least now I don't have to deal with her anymore. You still do though."

"Yeah but the most she usually does is make rude comments. I think my size intimidates her." Makoto said after a moment.

"That's good at least." Usagi said. She was glad Mako wasn't suffering nearly the same wrath from Yuki that she had back at Juuban. She wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"Ah. I hate to cut this short but if I don't go now I'm going to be late for work." Makoto said after a moment glancing at a nearby clock. She had gotten so sidetracked talking to Usagi she had lost track of time. Best not to make Rei mad.

"Have a good afternoon. Say hi to Rei for me. I'll see you around." Usagi said waving off the other girl before settling in to play some arcade games. "Crap! I forgot to talk about her about Motoki." Usagi realized a good ten minutes after Makoto had already left. Guess it was going to have to wait until the next time she ran into the girl.

* * *

When Megara and Hercules had brought up what the kittens had overheard it had caused Luna to wince she hadn't thought about the possibility Usagi might start talking about what had happened with Yuki with the kittens around. "I'm sorry. I should have told her to be more careful with what she was saying around them." In her defense, Usagi had always been so cagey on the subject she hadn't really expected to hear much about it again.

" _It's okay. We knew there was a risk of them overhearing things by letting her help with the kittens."_ Megara said shaking her head. They weren't overtly mad at Usagi. She wouldn't be aware of the fact the kittens could understand her, so she had no reason to be careful what she said. It's just something that needed to be brought up she felt. " _We just told them that someone tried to hurt her badly._ " It wasn't too far from the truth without having to explain such terms to the kits. One day when they were older they would probably understand what Usagi had gone through. But for now, this was the best way to deal with it. " _Did they really not get that far?_ "

"Usagi  _says_  they didn't get far enough to do anything that being said…" Luna trailed off there still not wanting to finish that thought.

" _You think they got further th_ _a_ _n she implied._ " Megara realized what Luna was leaving off.

Luna nodded her head. "I want to be wrong. Really, I do, but my gut is saying her and a friend of hers are hiding something." She let out a sigh. "How did the kits take it?"

" _Most seemed to accept it. A couple of the older ones seemed interested in joining in the chaos."_  Hercules answered her.

That caused Luna to pause at that thought. Normally she wouldn't have thought about that but the younger ones who were still small would be able to get places and wreak destruction that the fully-grown cats couldn't as easily. So, it definitely wasn't without its benefits if they were actually interested. That being said they were still kits. "What do the others think on that?"

Megara answered. " _The reactions_ _are_ _mixed. We're handling it as a litter by litter situation. We aren't going to stop the two in our brood that want to join in as long as they don't do something that will endanger themselves_ _b_ _ut it's ultimately up to the other's parents if they chose to_ _allow them to help_ _or not."_

* * *

Across town at Mugen Gaken, Haruka and Michiru had to miss school that day due to some of their musical work. That was also the first time she was approached by one of her classmates outside of talking about class. After everything that had happened with Yuki, Usagi still found it easier to stay near her old friends than to interact with some of her new classmates. It wasn't them, it was her.

She was surprised when another girl had approached her before lunch, Hiroko, if she remembered names correctly when she was first being introduced to everyone on the first day. Her brown curly hair bouncing slightly as she tipped back and forth on her toes. "We were wondering if you would like to join some of us for lunch for a change? Since some of your usual friends are out?"

"I was going to eat with Hotaru and Naru actually." Usagi admitted. Though now she was wondering how Hiroko had found out that Haruka and Michiru were going to be out today.

She saw a frown flash across Hiroko's face for a brief moment before it disappeared replaced with a smile. Okay. No way was she going to let herself be alone with this girl for very long. That was an old trait of Yuki's that she remembered from before the whole graveyard incident. She wasn't going to let anyone who was hiding their actual emotions be alone with her for very long. It might be nothing, it might be just a reaction to her trying to turn it down. It also might be something. "That's fine they can come along too."

Usagi still had her hesitations about eating with her but…it would be good to actually get to know some of her classmates. She mainly stuck with Naru and the others because after everything that had happened with Yuki she was still reluctant to approach others. Add in the looks Hotaru got at times and she wasn't entirely sure how much she wanted to interact with her fellow schoolmates. "As long as no one starts being mean to Hotaru like the first day I think I'm okay with that. Let me just ask first."

She heard Hiroko grumble something under her breath which caused Usagi to frown. She hadn't quite caught the entire comment, but the gist had seemed to be about why was she letting her friends dictate her decisions. "Naru and I have known each other since we were babies. She was the one by my side through all the problems I had since Tohoku. She is my first and longest friend." Usagi said frowning slightly. She wasn't going to ditch Naru especially after everything with Yuki. "Before I came here the situation at my old school escalated to the point where I couldn't go anywhere alone. Hotaru didn't have it that bad but I don't want her to suffer anymore either. She's actually a very sweet girl who collects lamps."

"Sorry. I didn't realize it was that bad." Hiroko said after a moment. Most of Usagi's classmates had experienced some sort of bullying before transferring to Mugen Gaken. Hiroko herself sometimes had to deal with stuff from the other years. Even Hiroko could only think of a couple of cases she knew of where the situation had been severe enough that they couldn't be left alone safely.

Usagi let out a sigh after a moment. "I would like to get to know all of you better but I will not abandon my friends."

* * *

"It wouldn't be a bad idea for you to hang out with them." Naru said after Usagi first brought up the topic at the start of lunch. She and the others wouldn't be there constantly as shown by Haruka and Michiru's absence today. Usagi making more friends would be a good idea. Naru could see why Usagi was still a bit hesitant. After everything that had been dragged out by Yuki at Juuban, it wasn't exactly going to be easy making friends outside the senshi. "Not everyone's going to be another Yuki. Just because it's a group of girls doesn't mean it's going to be her all over again."

"I know that it's not that, well not  _just_  that." Usagi corrected herself after a moment. If she had issues being friends with a group of girls well then being a Sailor Senshi would be a lot more difficult. "You remember how Yuki would sometimes make one face for a moment and then her expression would completely change?"

"Yeah did this Hiroko do that?" Naru realized making a face. She could now see why Usagi was dragging her heels a bit about this get-together.

"Yeah, she frowned for a moment and then smiled when I asked if I could bring you two along. It reminded me of Yuki." Usagi admitted. She was used to it with Michiru and to a lesser extent Haruka and knew what to expect since it usually went back to a more neutral expression. It still unnerved her when someone did it, especially someone she didn't really know that well yet. She trusted them not to hurt her in that manner by this point. New classmates she didn't know really all that well? Not so much.

"Many people hide their feelings to save others feelings or even their own." Naru noted. It was an interesting problem.

"The problem is I don't know if frown then smile is because she has a more Yuki like tendency or a more Michiru like tendency." Usagi said rubbing her head slightly. This was causing more of a headache then she had intended. Her gut said Yuki just because this wasn't just two people like what she was dealing with reading Haruka and Michiru. But a group which was closer to the Yuki situation. That being said…she would like to get to know these classmates better. She just couldn't help but be worried that somehow it would lead back to the Yuki situation. "What do you think Hotaru?" Usagi said turning to the younger girl for a moment.

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't personally partly because I haven't had the best experience with my own classmates, but that's my year mates, not yours. They may be nice." Hotaru pointed out. It was a slightly good sign she guessed that they were willing to let her attend lunch. "Most people here have a tendency to just avoid me. Even those outside my own year. That they are even willing to let me tag along may mean it is genuine."

Usagi cringed slightly at that. That was true from what she had seen most people gave them a wide berth at school. Though she was never sure if it was her or one of the others. Haruka and Michiru were good friends but could be intimidating when they wanted to be. "I guess just this once won't hurt as long as you guys are fine with it."

* * *

It was Friday again before Usagi had really a chance to think about the fact she still hadn't had a chance to talk to Makoto about the thing with Motoki. Her and Mamoru were getting together to drink smoothies at the arcade, though it was unintentional, to begin with, and they sometimes simply ended up sitting together and quietly sharing worries about their suddenly dating friends.

"Hey. Worried about Motoki?" Usagi asked as she slid into the booth that Mamoru was occupying.

"He's currently denying that he is attracted to her. Said the last time they were together they were just swapping cooking ideas." Mamoru said after a moment. That might not be still too much of a stretch but still. "Normally I would believe him, but I just have a suspicion there's something more there. What about Makoto?" Mamoru asked.

"I actually haven't had a chance to talk to her about it. She's very busy. She supports herself and goes to school. She's pretty dedicated to graduating and saving up for her restaurant." Usagi confessed sinking slightly into her seat. It wasn't like she had planned not to talk to Mako about the situation with Motoki.

"It's been a week." Mamoru pointed out with a frown. He would have thought by now she would have seen Mako more than once.

"I had to move closer to Mugen, so it is also harder to get the time where both of our schedules can fit." Usagi pointed out with a sigh. "And I don't want to upset her boss by showing up there to talk to her about the whole thing with Motoki."

"You know where she works?" Mamoru asked a bit surprised.

"Yes." Usagi confessed. "Rei seems to be getting more tolerable of me each time I visit but I doubt she'd appreciate if I showed up to talk about boys while Makoto is supposed to be focusing on the shrine duties and learning from the priest." Rei was still quite closed off towards Usagi but she had been slowly getting a lot less standoffish during the occasional visit. Particularly as she seemed to realize she wasn't just visiting to spend time with Makoto.

"Have you even seen her at all since last week?" Mamoru asked.

"I did once. We just got off on a completely different tangent about a bully from Juuban." Usagi confessed. Add in the fact that she was spending a few hours most days after school in the program and she was spending less and less time in Juuban outside of the weekend and hanging out with Naru. "I would rather not talk about it. Just know that was one of a long list of reasons I was having so many problems before." Usagi said as she saw him open his mouth to possibly ask about Yuki. "Said bully has apparently moved on to making comments about her now that I'm no longer her target. That's why we got off on that topic."

The two sighed drinking their milkshakes and starring at Makoto and Motoki sharing a laugh at something neither of them could hear from where they sat. Sure, the looks the two had been shooting each other looks the last time her and Mamoru had talked seemed to suggest it. But maybe they were reading too much into it. Because if they didn't even try to date each other then they were getting all worked up for nothing.

* * *

It took a few more days after she talked with Mamoru but she finally did get a chance to talk with Mako about it. Though the conversation didn't quite go as planned…

"Hey, Makoto." She greeted the brunette.

"Usagi." Mako greeted her in return looking up from the arcade game. "Have a good week?"

"As good as can be expected." Usagi said smiling slightly. Eating with Hiroko had turned out better then she had expected in the end. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to hang out with her every lunch, but it was kind of nice to start to get to know her classmates fairly well. "Whatever happened to the gamer guy you were guarding for a bit?" Usagi asked frowning slightly. That actually was a legit question she had besides the fact that Makoto and Motoki seemed to be interested in a relationship. What had happened with the Gamer guy?

Makoto looked away for a moment. "I haven't heard from him since the last incident with the ponytailed guy."

Usagi cringed slightly at that. "Sorry to hear about that." Regardless of the fact, the guy had been a massive jerk it was obvious Makoto must have had some feelings for him.

"It's all right I'm kind of used to it by now." Makoto admitted after a moment. It didn't make it hurt any less each time it happened. But it was far from her first experience with the subject.

She cringed slightly thinking back to a couple of times she had been stood up by people at Juuban who were faking interest in her either as a friend or as a crush and it had hurt no matter how much she had been expecting it after a certain point. After a while, she had caught on and become a lot more cautious. Especially after the incident with the boys. "Being used to doesn't make it any easier though." Mako shot her surprised look at the comment. "I had it happen a couple of times when I was at Juuban." Usagi elaborated. "How are things with you and Motoki? Mamoru and I saw you two hanging out."

Makoto got a far-off look in her eyes for a moment. "He's great." Well, that sounded a lot less like just someone who wanted to be friends. "We've just been talking mostly but I think we might actually be considering a date soon."

"Nice to finally have someone return your feelings finally?" Usagi guessed fighting a grin. Despite her concerns for her friend, she could tell she had fallen for Motoki, hard. She hadn't even looked that dreamy when talking about Gamer Joe. Makoto had it hard for Motoki, that was for sure.

"Yeah." Makoto agreed before continuing. "Do you think Motoki would do that same kind of thing?" Mako asked looking at her in concern.

Usagi shook her head. "No. Motoki doesn't seem like the type. But he is recovering from a bad breakup with a longtime girlfriend."

"I appreciate the concern but…" Mako trailed off there. "I don't think this is going to end the same way the others have." Something in her heart told her that this wasn't going to end the way all the others had. This might finally work out in a way that didn't end in heartbreak.

"Maybe you finally found that missing piece." Usagi said giving her a grin. Something in her gut told her this was right and it was how it was supposed to be.

* * *

The next time her and Mamoru got together it was at the nearby park. Apparently, Motoki was getting a few things back from Reika and for whatever reason they had picked the park as the tradeoff place. Mamoru had asked her to tag along to keep an eye on Mako while the meeting went down.

"Any sign of Reika?" Usagi asked as she sat down on the bench next to him.

"None yet but her and Motoki aren't supposed to meet for a half hour." Mamoru pointed out continuing to watch the couple for a moment who were looking at some flowers in the garden before they sat in silence.

Usagi hesitated a moment before breaking the silence. "Makoto seems to have fallen for him. You know Motoki even better than I do. Do you think he would hurt or use her like the other guys she's dated?" Usagi pointed out.

"No. I don't think so. However, this isn't the first time him and Reika have broken up and I just wonder if this is actually for real this time. If that happens then her feelings will get hurt but Motoki isn't someone to toy with people or play with their hearts either. He would never hurt her on purpose, but he won't likely realize he'd be hurting her by getting back together with Reika. He's not the most perceptive when it comes to that sort of thing." Mamoru confessed frowning in thought slightly. Then again this was the first time he remembered Motoki expressing interest in another girl after Reika broke up with him. So maybe it would stick this time.

Usagi made a face at that. "Would he actually get back together with Reika if he seems to already have moved on to someone else?" Motoki didn't seem like the type to intentionally go out of his way to hurt someone else. But then again Mamoru knew him a lot better than she did.

"No, he wouldn't. I'm just hoping Motoki uses some common sense when dealing with Reika if he actually does have feelings for Makoto." Mamoru said frowning slightly. Reika could be very good at scheming when she wanted to be. He wouldn't put it past her to try and pull something if she thought Motoki had already moved on.

"Well, the fact they're meeting somewhere neutral has to be a good thing, right?" Usagi pointed out.

"That could either work in our favor or against it." Mamoru said after a moment. "Reika doesn't always have the best restraint. If she's going to try and get back with Motoki who knows what she might pull."

"Good to know." Usagi noted. Spotting another brunette coming into the clearing, Reika. "Looks like she is here. Showtime."

* * *

Usagi didn't have much experience in relationships. Most of what she knew had been from watching other people so she couldn't really help the situation, so she decided to hang back rather than try to engage any of the trio. Mamoru, on the other hand, had gone up and was standing near Motoki while he and Reika talked. For moral support.

Makoto had chosen to drop back slightly so Usagi walked up to her. "How are you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess. I don't like her making him meet again but she does have some of his things. I don't fault him." Mako said shifting slightly. At least they were meeting somewhere public she guessed. Still, it seemed a bit odd to be having the handover here.

Usagi hesitated for the moment to talk about the fact Mamoru had mentioned Reika had used this kind of tactic to get Motoki back before. She didn't think it would actually work this time so she didn't want to get Mako concerned. It still was probably being worth bringing it up. "Mamoru was saying she's used a similar tactic before to get back with him. Always saying she never really meant whatever she said when they broke up the first time.

"That can't be healthy." Makoto noted frowning slightly. Then again she wasn't exactly in the position to be judging considering her own run of crushes.

"I don't think it is, but I honestly have no experience with relationships. I've never dated anyone." Usagi admitted.

Any further conversation was cut off as a familiar pony tailed general decided to pick that moment to materialize. Pointing the black crystal at Reika and starting what she vaguely recognized as the extraction process from when she had seen him target Gamecren and the priest. Okay, seriously what were the odds that Reika was another one of the crystal carriers?

"Crap." Usagi heard Mamoru say causing her to glance over with a frown. That was an interesting reaction to the general. Almost like he knew the amount of danger he posed judging by the tone. Why would Mamoru seem to know who Zoisite was? Sure she and Masato had debated the possibility before that he was their reincarnated prince. So far other than a wild coincidence in the names, there was nothing to back that theory up.

"Oh for the love of-Mako no." Usagi called after the brunette as she rushed the general as she was brought out of her thoughts. Apparently, the fact that the person being targeted was her possible boyfriends' ex meant little to her. "I am not sure if I am the luckiest person or theleast luckiest person on the planet." Usagi noted pressing the alert button of her watch. Seriously what were the odds she was there when Zoisite went after yet another rainbow crystal carrier? Though that was the good news. The bad news was it looked like Mako was about set to engage Zoisite again. At least Mamoru seemed to have decided to get Motoki out of there for the moment. Deciding to take advantage of the distraction she slipped away so she could henshin. Hopefully, she had enough time before Zoisite pulled the crystal out.

* * *

It would be just there luck that the one Great Warrior Youma they hadn't been able to find before Zoisite got to them was the one with the most tricks. Not that Moon had much time to think about it as she found herself hopping back and forth dodging whatever those things were that kept exploding and leaving flames in their place were. She got briefly sidetracked when Tuxedo Kamen showed up which led to her introduction to another of the youma's tricks. Making the same weird flask things explode and have bugs come out of them.

Thankfully that was when the others finally showed up as a Spiral Buster between the legs either destroyed most of the bugs or sent the few remaining ones scattering. "Need to be more careful Moon." Uranus noted.

"Wasn't my intention, Uranus, to have those bugs crawling up me." Moon said as the other two came up to her. "This one's a bit craftier then the others have been. She was throwing mini flasks at my feet. I was trying to not get hit by one when one exploded and I suddenly had those bugs crawling up my legs." Moon explained. This one seemed to have a rather unusually long list of abilities compared to some of the other youma they had fought. Then again, they hadn't needed to fight Hercules or Yumeni's youma forms so maybe some of the others had a rather long list of abilities.

"This isn't a one trick youma then." Uranus said powering up a Spiral Buster. "Well, this should make it interesting at least." Neptune said as Uranus unleashed the Spiral Buster in the youma's direction. Only to have the Spiral Buster get sucked into a flask that the youma had materialized from nowhere it felt like. And then come back out of the flask a moment later sending them shooting off in different directions. Great a youma of many abilities then. "Not another one." Moon complained. At least youma that could turn their attacks back on them weren't a common trend. It didn't make dealing with them any easier. "Saturn! I need cover!"

A second later the Silent Wall flickered to life as the youma that was Reika formerly slammed into a nearby tree falling unconscious. Moon winced in sympathy as she pulled the compact out. Hopefully, the magic would take care of whatever injuries were caused by this fight. Truth be told she was almost looking forward to going back to dealing with youmas in disguises. Dealing with humans turned youmas was so much more dangerous and difficult. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

It felt like an eternity, but what else was new at this point? Before the magic took hold and Reika reverted back to being human. Moon let out a sigh of relief closing her compact. Then the exhaustion from healing hit. Moon's body swaying for a moment before starting to give out. One of the others managing to catch her in time.

"You nearly passed out again." Neptune noted in concern outside of Moon's line of vision at the moment though she could hear her speaking softly somewhere near her ear. Moon had managed to maintain consciousness this time, but it had been a close call. "There has to be another way to go about this." Neptune's concern dealt with just how much Moon had been asking of her magic the last few weeks. How much longer could Moon keep this up before they started to see more noticeable long-term effects?

"I'm the only one who can do this." Moon said shaking her head slightly. Trying to push herself back to her feet and away from Neptune's arms, only to have her legs nearly go out a second time. Uranus catching her this time before she could hit the ground.

"Just because you're the only one means you should be doing this." Uranus commented frowning slightly. Moon was the only one who could take care of the Great Warrior Youma situation yes. The concern that this was becoming too much for her was growing more and more it seemed with each encounter. There were repercussions from pushing your magic too much. When would this get to be too much for Moon? Were they already past that point of no return?

"It's one more crystal carrier. I can live with this." Moon said trying to wave off the concern again through blurred vision, slurred speech, and a tired smile. After they got the last crystal hopefully she would have some time to recuperate between healing bouts. Moon was already aware she was reaching the end of her rope.

"Yeah, but what happens after that?" Uranus asked quietly. Voicing the one question she knew everyone else had to be thinking. Was it as simple as getting the last crystal and Usagi not needing to heal more? Or was there more events on the horizon that could drain Moon?

"I'm okay Uranus you can let me go now." Moon said after a moment. She felt steady enough to stand without support. Uranus hesitated for a moment before letting go and backing up a bit. This time Moon stayed upright without problems.

Moon let out a slight shiver. She had woken up this morning feeling a bit off. It seemed like the healing hadn't helped that. She just hoped she wasn't catching a cold. The last thing they needed was her getting sick right at this moment. For the moment though she had other concerns, particularly Saturn who was starting to look a bit pale.

Neptune apparently noticed that too. "Are you all right Saturn?"

Rather then respond Saturn started to sway. Uranus apparently had enough warning to realize what was about to happen as she caught the girl as she passed out a moment later. Neptune approached the duo putting a hand on the other girls forehead. "She has a fever." Neptune noted frowning slightly. Why hadn't this been brought up? "Did she show up to fight sick?" Uranus asked more to herself then asking the others.

Moon stood back for a moment vaguely recalling Hotaru mentioning that she had been on immune-suppressants when she had first shown her the implants. Was the fighting asking too much of her? A concern to raise for later for now… "We need to get her back to herDad." Moon said making the decision. She wasn't sure how to proceed at the moment. Good chance the others were now going to find out Hotaru's own issues with the way things were going. She wasn't sure if she was the best one to make the call to tell them the details, her Dad probably was. It seemed like anytime something medically related surfaced it was taken out of their control on when they got to share it.

* * *

Things from there got a bit muddled. Hotaru's transformation had reverted at one point on the ride back. And apparently, for once she hadn't been wearing clothes that completely covered her body. That was how the others ended up finding out about the cybernetic transplants that Usagi had had knowledge of for weeks now. Hotaru had been whisked away the minute they had arrived leaving the three of them and Luna waiting in the living room. Usagi found her quietly squirming in place as she tried to figure out how she was going to explain that she had already known about the transplants before today as Haruka went on a slight mini-tirade wondering why it seemed like her and Michiru couldn't get others to tell them about stuff like this.

Luna was the first one to pick up on her behavior. "Usagi did you know?"

"She did tell me but she was nervous." Usagi admitted after a moment. Might as well get it out there. Good chance they were going to find out soon enough she knew either from Hotaru or her Dad. "I found out since we're in the same program but usually go in on different days. Apparently, she had to come in on the same day I did one time. She asked me to come over shortly after we dealt with the artist carrier. Wanted my opinion on how you might react. I tried to assure her you guys would handle it fine, but she still was hesitating about coming out about it even though she knew eventually it was going to have to talk about it."

"So those are prosthetics then." Michiru noted. Well maybe prosthetic wasn't the right word. They certainly looked different then the ones Usagi wore around every day. Then again she wasn't sure what the right word for them would be.

"It's a bit more complicated then that." Usagi said not exactly sure what to call what Hotaru had. "I don't know how much I can say. I don't think I understand all of it and it's not mine to tell even if I did." Usagi admitted. Some of the exchange between her and Hotaru had been in confidence she felt like the comment about how she felt sometimes about the cybernetic transplants. She wasn't sure how much she could talk about it without going behind Hotaru's back and violating that confidance.

Thankfully, any other response was cut off by the return of Professor Tomoe. "She just let a cold get away from her, that's all." He assured them. "Since she has a compromised immune system it hits her a bit harder than it would hit most people."

"She has a compromised immune system?" Michiru noted in surprise. This was sounding less and less like traditional prosthetics.

"She didn't tell you about this yet?" Professor Tomoe sounding just as surprised that they didn't know yet. Glancing around the group. He would have thought that would have been something discussed awhile back.

"She didn't tell them yet. She told me some things…" Usagi admitted not sure how much she could say without Hotaru getting in trouble. "But she was still nervous about telling the others."

"It's fine. I expected you lot were going to find out anyway. Hard to work with people this close without this kind of thing slipping out. No matter how much they try to keep it under wraps." Professor Tomoe assured her realizing she was worried about getting Hotaru in trouble. Usagi relaxed slightly at that.

"The short version of the story is that she was badly burned in a fire as a young child. Hotaru has cybernetically transplanted limbs in a couple of places. Her body has a hard time accepting it so she's on medicine to keep her from facing rejection problems. Those medicines also suppress her immune system. Normally we catch it a bit earlier, so it doesn't come to this but, as you can see, that doesn't always happen." Professor Tomoe admitted scratching his head a bit frowning slightly. Normally the program caught them if he didn't notice it first. This had somehow slipped past all of them.

"The limbs are a bit unique looking as you probably saw. The next time she goes under for replacement they'll look more normal. As they are now Hotaru is self-conscious about them." Professor Tomoe explained. That was definitely true from what Usagi had seen.

"So, can we visit her or is it best to just let her rest?" Luna asked.

"Actually, she asked for Usagi to come." Professor Tomoe admitted. Sounding a bit awkward being put in that position. It wasn't too much of a surprise considering the similarities in the situation between Usagi and Hotaru getting found out.

"Of course, she did." Haruka grumbled as Usagi got up to follow Professor Tomoe back to Hotaru's room.

"I'll try to talk her into letting you allvisit." Usagi said with an apologetic expression. She got what Hotaru was doing considering she had done the exact same thing back in February. But maybe they could avoid a complete repeat of the aforementioned situation.

* * *

"I won't stay too long." Usagi assured him as she slipped into Hotaru's room. Hotaru needed rest right now more than anything and her standing around talking to her wouldn't let her get it. "Hey, Hotaru."

"Hey." Hotaru greeted from her spot on the bed hands nervously wringing. "So they know now?"

"Yeah. I think they'll surprise you though." Usagi admitted scratching her head slightly. Once the henshin had come undone there was no going back. If it had held maybe there could have been away she could have covered for Hotaru.

"How are they taking it?" Hotaru asked after a moment worry and dread slipping into her tone. This had been the one thing she had been dreading since the moment she became Saturn. Them finding out about just her own physical state. How it could change things, like their perception of her. She wasn't sure how well she could handle teammates constantly giving her looks. Classmates were one thing. People she was supposed to be fighting beside on a regular basis was another.

"I think Haruka's more annoyed that they were kept out of the loop about someone's condition again." Usagi smiled after a moment. Her mind briefly going over Haruka's rant while they had been waiting to talk to Professor Tomoe. Definitely seemed more annoyed about the hiding thing than anything else. "Though that might be more my fault then yours. I'm the one with the longer track record of hiding things from the both of them. Either way they appeared to take it well. Do you feel up to seeing them?"

"No not yet. I know I am going to have to face them eventually. I would rather do it when I'm back at my 'full' health." Hotaru admitted. It was going to be a long tiring conversation she figured. Best to do it when she was actually up to it. "I get that they appear to be taking it fine but…"

"I might not have the exact type of prosthetics, but I do understand the want to hide them. I was the same after they first found out but, in the end, the only thing anyone was upset about was hiding it from them. They didn't look down on me or treat me differently. I was still 'Usagi'." Usagi admitted after a moment sensing where Hotaru was going with that. Admittedly her own reasons probably varied a bit from Hotaru's.

"Does it get easier? I mean people knowing about them?" Hotaru asked after a moment. She wasn't entirely sure if there would ever come a day she would ever really be comfortable.

"I don't know. Yuki was mean about them and it's only been recently I've come to peace about it with the others accepting me the way I am now. Sometimes I can even forget I'm not a whole person anymore." Usagi said after a moment. She was still self-conscious about them. It was getting better, the other two not making a fuss about her legs actually helped in its own way.

"What did Yuki do?" Hotaru asked after a moment in a quiet voice. She had heard bits and pieces from Usagi before, like the apparent incident with the boys at her school, but she had never quite gotten the full story like the others.

"Maybe I'll tell you after you get better." Usagi said shaking her head slightly before smiling. She didn't want her friend to get stressed out by her problems. She was already sick and should rest.

"Promise?" Hotaru asked. She didn't like feeling slightly out of the loop when she knew the others had been told the full story from what she had heard.

"Promise." Usagi giving a tight smile.

"You really think it's OK? With my..." Hotaru asked before trailing off clearly not wanting to reference them directly out loud. Part of her wanted to believe it would be all right in the end but she just couldn't see that at the moment.

"I am sure they will. They did while you were in the car." Usagi pointed out.

Hotaru looked like she was going to respond when Professor Tomoe took that moment to stick his head back in. "I hate to break this up but it's getting late. Hotaru needs her rest so you'll have to continue this conversation later."

"Of course. Get better soon Hotaru." Usagi said getting up and giving Hotaru a final wave before following Professor Tomoe out.

End Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week. As mentioned above I will be posting earlier on travel weeks starting with this week. So 23 is going to go up on the 13th instead of the 14th.
> 
> If you're over on Ao3 you may have noticed a change since the last update. There's officially a total amount of chapters for the fic. That's because I've decided rather than all 5 arcs as one massive story I am going to be splitting them up. 
> 
> If you're over on FF (good lord this site is weird at times, I can't put the . n e t in it even though its not a full address) I might recommend maybe putting me on following for authors so you know when the next part comes up which won't be until February so you do have time. Since unfortunately FF still doesn't allow for you to link multi-part series. If you don't that's fine, I will mark the sequel as 'Sequel to PD' so if you're looking at that you'll know its the continuation. It's just some advice.
> 
> I'm doing so because I want to try and make this look slightly less intimidating the further we get into this to any possible new readers. Dark Kingdom arc is quickly approaching the 300k words (current word processor shows around 276k words and that's not counting stuff I've added in later on, so it's probably closer to 280k at the very least) and I'm still not completely done with the thing, though I am getting close. Plus this makes doing edits and updates a lot easier if I don't have a massive drop-down list.
> 
> Anyway's preview for 23:
> 
> A couple of days later saw Usagi having problems of her own as she stumbled into the kitchen for breakfast. With a halfhearted 'good morning' she took a seat at one of the chairs. Haruka and Michiru exchanged glances over her head. Usagi wasn't exactly a morning person but that was still a bit out of character for her. Michiru frowned slightly, noting that she looked a bit flushed and clammy. Usagi didn't even react when she reached up and felt the girl's forehead.
> 
> Michiru was not entirely shocked when she felt the warmth coming off of Usagi's forehead. She wasn't even sure Usagi realized she had started leaning into the touch. Somehow or another Usagi had managed to get sick. "Your burning up." Michiru noted crossing her arms. "When did you start feeling off?"
> 
> "Last night." Usagi mumbled more to herself then to Michiru. Michiru raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Really?" If it had been anyone else she might have believed them, but this was Usagi and with her track record she had probably hid the fact she was sick until she couldn't hide it anymore.
> 
> "Okay it was a couple of days ago, but I only started really noticing last night." Usagi finally admitted. That made more sense. A couple of days would put them back to when Hotaru had collapsed. That at least explained why Usagi had decided to hide it. She probably hadn't wanted to add to the list of growing things that were not quite going right for them recently. Not that there was anything either of them could do about them getting sick.
> 
> Please again remember to leave a review or a comment. I'll see you guys on the 13th!


	23. Transcendence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Welcome to this week's chapter. As mentioned this is another travel week so I'm posting before Friday. Mainly because I land in Berlin around 1 pm after 12 hours of travel (8 hours to Reykjavik, one-hour layover, three hours to Berlin). And posting would be a headache to remember.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter. Please remember to leave a review or a comment.
> 
> As always thanks to Tsukikageshi for betaing this.

Chapter 23

Transcendence

A couple of days later saw Usagi having problems of her own as she stumbled into the kitchen for breakfast. With a halfhearted 'good morning' she took a seat at one of the chairs. Haruka and Michiru exchanged glances over her head. Usagi wasn't exactly a morning person but that was still a bit out of character for her. Michiru frowned slightly, noting that she looked a bit flushed and clammy. Usagi didn't even react when she reached up and felt the girl's forehead.

Michiru was not entirely shocked when she felt the warmth coming off of Usagi's forehead. She wasn't even sure Usagi realized she had started leaning into the touch. Somehow or another Usagi had managed to get sick. "You're burning up." Michiru noted crossing her arms. "When did you start feeling off?"

"Last night." Usagi mumbled. Michiru raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Really?" If it had been anyone else she might have believed them, but this was Usagi and with her track record she had probably hidden the fact she was sick until she couldn't hide it anymore.

"Okay it was a couple of days ago, but I only started really noticing last night." Usagi finally admitted. That made more sense. A couple of days would put them back to when Hotaru had collapsed. That at least explained why Usagi had decided to hide it. She probably hadn't wanted to add to the list of growing things that were not quite going right for them recently. Not that there was anything either of them could do about them getting sick.

"That sounds more realistic." Michiru noted. "Do you feel up to eating something or do you want to just go back to bed?"

"I don't need to go back to bed. I've gone to school worse." Usagi muttered waving off the concern moving to stand up again only to sway slightly and find herself made to sit back down on the chair by Haruka. Admittedly she had never made it through a full day but there had been a few times she had snuck off without her Mom being aware when she had been at Juuban.

"Go back to bed Usagi." Michiru understood but Usagi needed rest to get better and she wasn't going to budge on this.

"But-" Usagi hesitated still.

"Usagi. Michiru is right. Go to bed." Haruka insisted this time making a more direct approach by helping Usagi out of the chair and pushing her lightly back in the direction of her bedroom hoping she would just go from there. Usagi hesitated for a moment more, then finally started making her way back to her room.

"What? The gentle approach wasn't working." Haruka said defensively to the look Michiru was giving her after Usagi had disappeared.

At least it had worked.

* * *

When Setsuna's day had started she had been expecting a normal day at the office. What she hadn't been expecting was to run into someone possibly connected to her own family history from the Silver Alliance.

A young man named Ryo had shown up at her office shortly after it opened. Thinking he was a new patient at first, she had directed him to the paperwork only to be told that wasn't why he was here. He began by making a fairly bold claim that he could see a decent way into the future. Curious, at the very least, she had asked him to elaborate. There were actual psychics on Earth, contrary to popular belief, but most of them weren't very powerful unless they could trace their family lineage back to the Silver Alliance. Even then, their sight was limited compared to psychics from Neptune and Mars in their heyday.

"Just how far can you see?" Setsuna asked once the initial shock had worn off and they had settled into her office. Ability to see would go a long way in determining his actual lineage.

"A few weeks." Ryo admitted. Okay that she hadn't expected. "Details start getting vaguer the further I'm trying to look. I see a lot. Sometimes I don't want to."

"No, it makes a lot of sense." Setsuna said after a moment. This sounded a lot less like a traditional psychic and more in lines with someone who was time sensitive. Plutonian.

Psychics tended to only get small flashes of events rather close to their occurrence. The stronger ones sometimes were able to see pretty far in the future. Those were the exceptions, not the rule. Time-sensitive people, on the other hand, usually could see a wider variety and some of the stronger ones had been able to see centuries into the future versus a few decades at most.

Most Plutonian descendants of today who had any semblance of time sensitivity could see multiple events for a few days at most, not for weeks. This made her wonder, what if he wasn't a descendant of one of the few Plutonians who had escaped to Earth but a reincarnate. The pieces had definitely been there the night the Moon Kingdom fell for some non-senshi to get sent forward and it was already established Naru was one of them.

"I originally came to Tokyo to meet with a pen pal. When I made that decision I started getting rather insisted visions that I should meet with you. It was a while before I understood why." Ryo explained breaking into her thought pattern.

"I am sure you are aware of who I am and what I do if you decided to approach me." Sestuna said after a moment.

"Yes." Ryo agreed. "You think we were related." Ryo realized. Apparently seeing something she couldn't. A side effect of being able to see further into the future meant that she had a hard time seeing events that were close in proximity to her.

"Your abnormally time sensitive so I wouldn't be surprised." Sestuna explained. The more she thought about it the more it made sense. At most even actual true psychics on Earth with a non-Silver Alliance background could only see really around 24-48 hours into the future. Those who had Martian or Neptunian backgrounds could get maybe up to a week if they really concentrated but usually only around certain events. You had the rare ones like Nostradamus who could see possibilities centuries into the future. Those like Nostradamus being born were about a once every few hundred-year event.

To be able to see as far as Ryo was describing meant that he definitely was a reincarnated Plutonian or was descended from one of the few surviving Plutonians who had migrated to Earth after the Moon Kingdom fell. Considering the strength more likely the former than the later. The planetary abilities had always been strongest within the royal families for the planets. Considering most of the families had died when the Moon had fallen with the exception of a few distant cousins... She was more inclined to think he was part of the Pluto Royal family and considering his age and appearance the reincarnation of her younger brother.

It wasn't brought up that often, but she wasn't an only child back in the days of the Silver Alliance. In fact, most of the royal families had more than one child. The Moon and Earth families of the time had been the exception. She had been separated from her family at an early age to begin being prepped to take over as the next Sailor Pluto, but she had a younger brother during the days of the Silver Alliance though she had never gotten to interact with him much growing up. Duties making her distance herself during her time at the Gates. She had been taken to start training pretty much as soon as Chronos had declared her the next in line (Things were done a bit differently with Pluto Senshi, not all crown princesses could serve. They were the only ones outside of the Moon Senshi who had a chance of being not crown princess. Sometimes it fell to a more distant relative then the next in line to the throne. It was simply a matter of who was the most time-sensitive in the current generation, not who was in line for the throne. While it was usually a crown heiress that became Sailor Pluto sometimes the next in line simply wasn't sensitive enough to the time stream particularities to be an adequate Sailor Pluto).

She hadn't seen her own family in a few hundred years before the fall of the Silver Alliance, part of the unfortunate isolation of being the guardian of the Time Gates. Her brother would have been right about this age at the fall, by Pluto's standards at least. It was possible that he was a reincarnation. It was entirely probable he had been on the Moon and sent forward to the future like quite a few of the Moon's residents.

It was an odd situation to be in. She really hadn't put any thought into the possibility of seeing her family again. The last contact she had had with the Silver Alliance before the fall had been with Queen Serenity. She hadn't seen her own family since she was still a child by Plutonian standards. Her interactions with people had been pretty much limited to the Lunar Royal Family. It had been centuries since she had seen her own family in person. Every once and a while the fog had parted enough to give her a glimpse in passing. That's all it had been. A glimpse here and there since she had begun her formal training to be the next Sailor Pluto. Setsuna only had a vague idea of what her younger brother had grown up to look like.

"You seem a little less enthusiastic then I would have imagined about finding lost family." Ryo admitted after a moment.

"It's complicated. My brother was a toddler when I was selected to be the next Sailor Pluto. Once I began at the Time Gates my interaction with other people, beyond Chronos, who is more a god than a person, was mostly limited to the royal queens of the time period. I was never really allowed to get close to anyone. I have served at the time gates for thousands of years since the fall, without even those queens to interact with on any occasion, and it was hundreds away from my family before that. Forgive me if I don't know what to say." Even now she found it difficult to try and interact with the other senshi. She was slowly trying to put an effort in. Trying to show up where she knew fights were going to occur, but it wasn't the easiest. Her interaction with Usagi and the few other patients she had was the most social interaction she had had in centuries. "Enough about myself I suspect that there's a reason you're approaching me now beyond curiosity about your ability?" Sestuna said deciding to change the subject.

"Yeah actually. There's this ponytailed guy in the grey suit-" Ryo began pausing for a moment to try and remember the name.

"Zoisite." Setsuna provided, having a feeling she knew exactly where this was going.

"Right Zoisite. Anyway's I guess I am apparently the next holder of a rainbow crystal. I am going to be targeted next." Ryo explained.

"Are you giving us a warning or volunteering to have Usagi heal you to get the crystal?" Sestuna surmised. Usagi should be recovered enough by this point from their last venture that her doing a full out healing shouldn't cause a problem but still. This honestly hadn't been the way she had suspected they would get the final rainbow crystal. If this was her brother's reincarnation... how far had the silver millennium fallen for her brother, Crown Prince of Pluto, to have joined the Dark Kingdom?

"Volunteering and I have another idea." Ryo began.

"Wait no I see it." Sestuna cut him off. The time stream's fog had shifted just enough for her to get a better idea of what Ryo was trying to plan. She tended not to see things that were close, but it did happen on occasion, like now. The idea was to use him as bait to try and obtain the other rainbow crystal in Zoisite's possession. "You realize how risky this is?" Sestuna asked hesitating a bit. It wasn't a horrible idea. It was very dangerous however and it wasn't guaranteed to work.

"I know how risky it is. I'm the one that came up with it." Ryo reminded her shrugging slightly. "If you guys don't have all the rainbow crystals together when it comes time for Usagi to awaken then things are going to be a lot more dangerous."

"Be careful what you say aloud or around the others." Sestuna cautioned. She wasn't entirely surprised Ryo knew Usagi was the princess. That moment in time was getting closer and closer to happening. He would be able to see it if he really was that time sensitive. "Usagi's not going to like this." Sestuna commented more to herself. Usagi hated putting others into danger so while convincing the others to play along with the plan wouldn't be difficult convincing Usagi was a whole other matter.

"Can we-no wait that won't work." Ryo said after a moment. He had been trying to tell if they could hide it from Usagi, the idea of using him as bait that was. And while he couldn't tell exactly how Usagi would find out. He knew that she would find out before the plan was fully executed so keeping it from her was out. Since that particular route only seemed to make her angrier.

"I'll reach out to the others and we'll start figuring out when we can start putting the plan in motion, maybe swing by their place to talk. Maybe we should go by their place after I finish my work for the day. I have some patients coming by today so you're going to have to leave for now. Come back in the evening around five and I should have an update on what we're going to do." Sestuna said after a moment. With any luck, they would be able to get Ryo's crystal tonight. After that, it was a matter of playing a waiting game for Zoisite to show up.

* * *

Of course, once they actually got to the apartment that was jointly shared with Usagi, Haruka, and Michiru the situation got quickly turned on its head. Michiru was the one to answer. "Setsuna this is unexpected." She glanced over at Ryo with a frown. "Please don't tell me you found another crystal holder."

"What's the problem?" Sestuna said frowning slightly. That wasn't the reaction she had been expecting. Yes, Usagi had been worn down by all the fighting and healing recently. But it shouldn't be an issue. Ryo was the last of the holders. Usagi wouldn't need to heal anyone else after today for a long time.

Haruka came up to the door just as Ryo seemed to find out what happened. "She's sick?"

"How did he-" Haruka began in confusion. That had been what Michiru had probably been about to say. But she was pretty sure most people didn't know Usagi was currently out for the count.

"He's sensitive to the time stream and future events." Sestuna explained. Now frowning slightly Usagi being sick at least explained Michiru's initial reaction. This was going to cause a problem. "I think this is a conversation best continued inside, however."

"How come you don't go blurting out stuff you don't know yet?" Haruka asked clearly amused by the event as they were let in.

"I have training. He does not." Sestuna answered. She guessed that the revelation must have taken Ryo by surprise since he had been careful not to let it on too much earlier. Hopefully, they wouldn't have a repeat incident later.

"He's right. Usagi woke up with a fever this morning. She called in sick. Luna kept an eye on her while we were in class." Michiru confirmed after a moment. "We're not entirely sure but we think the stress of what happened with Hotaru the other day topped with dealing with everything involved the crystal carriers caught up with her." Michiru admitted.

"That would explain it." Sestuna agreed. This complicated things. They couldn't have Usagi doing healing spells until she was fully recovered and then a bit more time if they could afford it. However, she wasn't sure how much time they had until Zoisite went after Ryo. Ryo might actually have an idea since he seemed to have a better handle on close events. The unfortunate side effect of her specialty being with long-term events, not short term, sadly. "Do you know when Zoisite is planning to go after the crystal."

"I think a week." Ryo said frowning and scrunching up a face. "It keeps changing, not sure why."

Sestuna shook her head. "Events that are directly affected by a person's decisions like Zoisite going after a crystal carrier are harder to get a grasp on so that's normal." She probably would have been surprised if he had known for certain when Zoisite was going to show up.

"I'm guessing there was a plan here that got overtaken by Usagi getting sick." Michiru gathered after a moment.

"Original plan, his plan, was to have Usagi heal him of the crystal and then use him as bait to get the remaining rainbow crystals." Sestuna said frowning slightly. They were going to be lucky if Usagi was ready to heal him by whenever Zoisite reared his head next. It wasn't a risk she wanted to take, they needed the Ginzishou sooner rather than later. Letting parts of it float around in various hands wasn't a good idea. It was one they were going to have to take. The consequences of further overtaxing Usagi weren't light.

* * *

 

While the other three tried to figure out what to do Michiru slipped away to check on Usagi. She had been sleeping when her and Haruka had returned home. They hadn't had a chance to talk to her again since breakfast.

"How are you doing?" Michiru asked as she saw Usagi was now awake and sitting up in bed. Luna was curled up on the side of the bed just observing for the moment. She reached over feeling the girl's forehead sitting down on the bed's side away from Luna. She didn't feel any warmer at least.

"Slightly better. The cold medicine helps." Usagi said giving a tired smile. She still felt pretty out of it, but she was doing better at the moment at least. "Who was at the door?"

"Just one of your classmates dropping off some things for class." Michiru answered. A lie but a necessary one, they had picked up what Usagi had needed from class before they had left campus. She had a feeling that if she told Usagi who was actually here she might have a hard time getting the girl to wait. Deciding to redirect her attention away from the visitors. "Are you up to eating something?"

"Not really." Usagi confessed knowing full well she probably should. Once she had taken her legs off she had found she didn't really have the energy or the want to even go back into the kitchen. All she had wanted to do was sleep.

Michiru noted her pallid complexion standing up again. "I'll get you some soup. You'll need it to get your strength up."

* * *

 

Michiru closed the door behind her just as Luna slipped out of the bedroom. Once Luna was sure they were clear of Usagi's hearing range she asked. "That wasn't one of her classmates was it?"

"Setsuna came by." Michiru said as soon as they were clear enough of Usagi's room that she wouldn't possibly overhear them.

Luna frowned at that as they entered the kitchen. "To check up on Usagi?" She had thought the only people that knew Usagi was sick were either in the apartment this morning or the school administration.

"She had other business that's going to have to wait." Michiru explained grabbing a can of chicken noodle from one of the cupboards. Making a mental note to stock some more. She had a feeling that if the last few weeks were an indicator of how things would go in the future they were going to be needing more of these.

Luna swore slightly as she caught on to what Michiru wasn't saying. "She found the last rainbow crystal carrier?"

"Yes." Michiru confirmed. Having Usagi heal now was out of the question. Considering how much the healing pre-transformation had wiped Usagi out before there was no way she would be able to heal the boy while still sick. There was a possibility that she wouldn't even make it through the healing before knocking herself out. Then they were stuck in possibly a repeat situation of what had happened at Hikawa Shrine where the youma being partially removed had caused side effects. It was too much of a risk.

"There has to be something we can do." Luna muttered to herself in thought. Though she wasn't entirely sure what. Healing was out of the question, but they needed to try and make sure they didn't lose a chance to get this crystal.

"I think we're all under the agreement that Usagi healing anyone would make her worse right now." Michiru pointed out looking over at the cat with a frown.

Luna shook her head. "I'm not suggesting that. I'm just trying to think of a way to make sure Zoisite doesn't get the crystal before she recovers." If he got the crystal, then they would be in a lot more trouble in the long run. That would mean he would have three crystals to their two and Tuxedo Mask's two. Meaning they would have the upper hand. The Ginzishou was so vital to beating the Dark Kingdom that this was an extra ordinally bad idea. They needed the rainbow crystals, but it would make Usagi worse, in the long run, to heal the carrier now rather than wait. For not the first time Luna wished that there was more than one proper healer in the group. For now, she guessed, they were going to have to find a way to keep Zoisite from going after this crystal carrier.

"The carrier has some ability to see the future. He was saying we should have a week about until Zoisite rears his head." Michiru said after a moment. "It might be cutting it close but what options do we have?"

"None really." Luna admitted. "Can he at least stay with Setsuna for the moment? Maybe him being near a senshi can deter Zoisite going after him?"

"How?" Michiru asked. "It's not like Zoisite knows any of our real identities. He'll probably see Setsuna as another nuisance since he has no idea that she isn't some random civilian."

"Maybe she can stop him from using the black crystal?" Luna suggested unsurely. She wasn't even sure what to do at this point. The suggestion was a long shot though and even she was skeptical of Setsuna being able to pull that off. She might be one of the more powerful senshi, but she did have her limits.

"None of us have figured out how to stop the black crystal yet Luna." Michiru pointed out frowning turning to head back to Usagi's room. Admittedly…. none of them had the chance to really try and stop Zoisite from using it. The fact remained they had no idea how to stop it. They knew Rei's grandfather had been able to get away before his crystal had been fully taken. Beyond that, they had no clue how he had accomplished such on his own or if anyone other than him could do so.

"I know that. Guess it's just wishful thinking on my part." Luna sighed as she turned to follow Michiru back to Usagi's room. Hopefully, this would all sort itself out. "I guess I'm just feeling the stress of having two of our own out for the count."

* * *

 

_Somehow in the interim Usagi had fallen into a light sleep. She knew that she was dreaming because for some reason she was back at the Moon Palace. Standing in front of Uranus and Neptune both of whom seemed to be angry with her for some reason._

" _How could you forget_ _?_ _" Uranus sneered at her. "How could you let her make us forget?"_

" _Forget? Forget what? Who did I let you forget?" Usagi asked thoroughly confused now. What was she forgetting? Well, she was forgetting pieces of the Silver Alliance she knew that much. The supposed rebellion, her time on the Outer Rim, etc._ _S_ _omething told her that wasn't what Uranus was talking about._ _O_ _nce again, she found that she was missing some piece of a puzzle that she was only beginning to now see._

_Before she could try to question them again the scene changed suddenly. Usagi found herself standing on a beach. She knew this beach. She and Shingo had grown up playing on it. Speaking of which she knew that young blond-haired boy anywhere. "Shingo?"_

_She bit her lip to stop the scream that wanted to come out when Shingo turned to face her. She had never seen what Shingo looked like when they had finally found his body_ _, o_ _nly what he looked like after they had him interned for the funeral._ _Th_ _at hadn't stopped a thousand different images like this one from coming to her mind_ _, w_ _hich seemed to be coming to life again here._

_A giant scrape running down one of his legs, part of his scalp missing torn off by god knows what because of the debris from the combined earthquake and tsunami, a scary smile that was missing half his teeth. She didn't want to look_ _._ _S_ _he didn't want to see what Shingo might have looked like in his last moments on Earth_ _. At_ _the same time, she couldn't look away as she started to see the ocean water retreating in the distance. The sign of the incoming tsunami._

" _Why couldn't you save me Usagi?" Shingo asked her as the tidal wave rose up behind him._

Usagi shot up in bed with a light scream just as Michiru returned from the kitchen with Luna. "Usagi?" Michiru said setting a tray down next to the bed. "Everything alright?"

"Just a bad dream." Usagi said trying to give her a smile her knuckles turning white from gripping the blanket so hard. Every time she closed her eyes to try and forget it the image of Shingo battered and beaten just surged straight back to the forefront.

"Seems like more than just a bad dream." Luna noted as she moved to Usagi's other side so Michiru could sit on one side of the bed. The last time she had seen the girl look this shaken was after they had had that run in with Yuki.

"Shingo. He was asking me why I couldn't save him." Usagi admitted after a moment grip loosening just slightly. There had been something else there, but she had already forgotten what it was.

Usagi did not seem to see the tears that flowed down her face like a dam had broken with that admission.

Michiru wasn't entirely sure what to say. All she had on Shingo were the stories from Usagi and Naru. While she could try to provide some comfort to Usagi it might not help since she had never met the boy. The only person that could truly provide that kind of comfort was Naru. Her words would probably just fall on deaf ears since she and Haruka had never known Shingo. "Do you think he would blame you for his death?" Personally, she had a hard time seeing anyone related to Usagi blaming her in such a fashion.

Usagi hesitated tears starting to well up. "I don't know. Why? I'm supposed to be able to save him. I'm his sister. Why him? Why couldn't I save him Michiru?" The question would probably always claw at her heart. Why was it she could save the people of Tokyo from the Dark Kingdom but couldn't save her little brother from dying in a natural event? It wasn't FAIR!

"Usagi, you almost died yourself. There was no way you could have saved him on your own." Michiru finally said placing a comforting hand on Usagi's own. Considering Usagi's own brush with death she was just glad things hadn't turned out worse. She wasn't sure what her and Haruka would be doing now if they had lost her before they had even met her. Usagi may have survived but it had been a close call.

"You sound like Setsuna when we talk about this." Usagi admitted with a watery smile.

Luna gave her a sad smile at that. "Setsuna is a wise woman. You should listen to what she says. None of us may have ever met Shingo, but I can't imagine anyone closely related to you baring hatred for something you couldn't control." Unknowingly echoing Michiru's earlier thoughts about Shingo.

* * *

 

"She's still avoiding you?" Usagi asked a bit surprised a day later. She was still staying home trying to kick the cold to the curb, so she hadn't seen Hotaru since they had talked briefly after they had taken care of Reika. Despite her reassurances that the others really didn't hold anything against her after seeing the implants, Hotaru was apparently still avoiding them. Well, she couldn't fault the girl too much considering she had done the exact same thing just a few months ago.

"The couple of times we've seen her since she's been actively avoiding us. What did you say to her anyway?" Haruka asked making a face.

"I told her that while you were surprised and wish she had said something about it sooner you really didn't seem thrown off by it." Usagi admitted scratching her chin trying to figure out why Hotaru was still avoiding the others. Guess she hadn't reassured Hotaru enough when they were talking before. Maybe she just needed to come to terms with it on her own.

"I would rather not have a repeat of the mall incident." Luna grumbled slightly.

"I don't think Hotaru's the type to pull something like that." Michiru frowned in thought. Then again, she hadn't thought Usagi capable of it either at the time.

"Maybe I can get Naru to talk to her. She's mostly neutral to this." Usagi suggested. Naru was the only other person who was within their age range that she knew. Naru was so used to the prosthetics that her reaction might be more in line with Usagi's then other peoples.

Luna made a face at that. "I'm not entirely sure that would help. If she didn't listen to you then I have a hard time seeing her listening to Naru." It wasn't the world's worst idea though she had to admit.

Usagi cringed. "That's true. I guess at the worst she'll have to talk to us the next time a rainbow crystal carrier surface."

"Then we're back to the similar situation to the mall." Michiru noted frowning slightly. What was it with people wanting to hide things from her and Haruka?

"Maybe it's because of our early behavior?" Haruka suggested. They had been trying to open and welcoming to Hotaru since she had been confirmed as Saturn. Something about her Senshi half was still setting them off even after she awoke. It was slowly getting better, but it wasn't entirely perfect.

"She knows your kind of offset by her title." Usagi confirmed. "She's realized it for a while." Usagi stated seeing their surprised faces.

"I thought we were better at hiding that." Michiru muttered more to herself than to Usagi.

"When you've been bullied for so long as her, you kind of have to be better than the average person then reading people at times, especially with things like that." Usagi pointed out shaking her head thinking back to her own experiences. It was partly why she had been so on the defense with Hiroko the first time they had hung out. Most people would have missed the change in expressions when Usagi had brought up bringing friends along. Usagi wasn't most people.

"Maybe it's the whole ruin part of her title. It's getting easier being around her the longer she's awake, but it did feel weird at first." Haruka said after a moment. Actually, the power tantrums she remembered Hotaru throwing at one time had pretty much died down since Hotaru had awakened as Saturn. Maybe there was a connection between the two.

"Actually, Hotaru mentioned that her full title is senshi of death and rebirth not ruin." Usagi corrected.

"Really?" Michiru said raising an eyebrow at Usagi, who nodded her head, causing Michiru to turn to Luna.

Luna frowned for a moment muttering. "I could have sworn that was the correct title." After everything else that had happened recently she wouldn't be shocked if she had had it wrong. Maybe she could pester Artemis about this next time they talked.

"She said it was some sort of misnomer." Usagi said scrunching her face thinking back to the conversation at the Tomoe's house during her first visit.

"I guess it's certainly possible. There weren't a lot of Saturns who saw action back in the day. One misspeaks or mistranslation and a whole title could be easily changed without realizing it." Luna agreed after a moment.

"Back to the topic of the crystals. Since we haven't found the last carrier yet that gives us some time to settle things with Hotaru." Usagi commented. The room went deathly quiet and no one would say anything or look at Usagi directly. The floor and ceiling suddenly became very interesting all of a sudden and Usagi noticed after a moment. "You found them?" She hedged.

"He found Setsuna." Haruka corrected after a moment. "Apparently he can see the future and sought her out." The decision to go to Setsuna versus one of them was interesting. If they had similar abilities guess it was best to go to the one person who would understand him best

"If we know who he is, why haven't we taken the rainbow crystal?" Usagi asked moving to get up. Just because she was sick didn't take away the danger of the Dark Kingdom getting another crystal.

"Usagi sit down. You are in no condition to be using healing spells." Luna scolded the girl noting the fact that she was moving to get up. "You're just going to make yourself worse. Yes, getting the rainbow crystal is important but so are you. Focus on getting better then we can worry about the last rainbow crystal."

* * *

 

Usagi was dealing with fever dreams that she swore were getting weirder and weirder each time she had them. Some of them were fairly simple, or as simple as you could get when it came to fever dreams, nightmares of Shingo asking her again and again why she couldn't save him. Then there were the ones that involved the Sailor Senshi. Almost always Haruka as Uranus and Michiru as Neptune, she occasionally saw Hotaru as Saturn and even on a rarer occasion Sestuna as Pluto. For the most part, it was always those two for one reason or another. Usually asking her why she had let them forget. After a while, she thought she had some sort of handle on what to expect. And then the nature of the dreams had changed again…

_Somehow, she knew that these were the outposts she had only heard talked about. The places Uranus and Neptune had stood at during the Silver Alliance to protect their kingdom from outside invasions._

_She had never seen it before now, but it was so desolate she couldn't imagine it being anything else. How she was here and how she was seeing this was a mystery of its own but right now that was the least of her priorities. The fact that the two of them were facing down a giant youma hoard was._

_She knew that the two were powerful and could stand up to most opponents._ _J_ _udging by the sword and mirror she saw both of them wielding, their past selves were_ _more_ _powerful than their current selves._ _As powerful as they were, however, t_ _he sheer number of youma_ _was still overwhelming them_ _._ _A sea of youma as far as she could see with Neptune and Uranus at the center._ _She had never seen so many youma in one place before and she hoped she would never see a situation like this again._ _A few people fought here and there but it was clear there were few left to fight the youma. They were losing._ _They were overwhelmed and dying around Uranus and Neptune, who still fought with every breath of themselves._

_An_ _overwhelming shadow of a pain radiated through her chest_ _and left an indescribable emptiness with her_ _as Neptune got hit from behind and fell a moment later, dead._ _She reached out and tried to get to Neptune, but s_ _he was just a ghost here. An observer to some moment long past. She could make noise all she wanted but no one was going to hear her._ _She could try to reach them all she wanted but her hands would pass straight through them all. Every. Last. One_ _._

_Uranus dropped down next to_ _Neptune_ _shakily feeling her neck. Confirming something that Usagi herself already knew_ _. She_ _had a feeling Uranus knew. Neptune hadn't survived the blow. Why_ _? S_ _he wasn't certain_ _._ _What had been so different with that blow from most youma attacks they faced every day? She guessed it really didn't matter in the end._

" _Damnit Neptune you promised you wouldn't leave me." Usagi could hear Uranus saying to herself._ _A broken voice. Eyes shadowed in her hair as another person went down, this time protecting Uranus while she was on her knees by Neptune._ _A moment later Usagi thought she saw Uranus wipe her cheeks_ _. She_ _stood facing the hoard_ _with the few people around her crying out in the throes of death as they were struck down, tired from the long battle against impossible odds, like a hot knife through butter_ _. Her eyes narrowing slightly as she seemed to make a decision and a small yellow ball began to form in one of her hands growing rather quickly in size. At first, Usagi thought she was going to use some variant of the attack she normally used_ _b_ _ut something felt different about this_ _._ _S_ _he could almost feel her hair starting to stand on end as the energy began to gather._

" _Sky Quake!" She saw Uranus raising her hands like she had seen her do a dozen times now when performing Spiral Busters._ _T_ _his somehow felt different than any other attack she had seen. Despite her not actually being there_ _,_ _she could feel the sheer power behind the attack. It eclipsed anything she had felt before. This really was no normal attack._

_She saw the energy ball slam into the hoard of youma taking out a huge chunk in the process but that wasn't where she was looking. She was still watching Uranus who a moment after releasing it closed her eyes before falling to the ground next to Neptune, the same strange pain echoing through her chest again. She didn't understand how or why it had happened or how she even knew but she somehow knew that Uranus was dead, Neptune was dead. And suddenly for some reason, she couldn't really understand she felt_ _a soul-crushing emptiness she bore, feeling cold and alone as the few soldiers left seemed to drop around them, having lost the will to fight. She could understand this as her hands reached for them, begging them to wake, to return to her_ _._

Usagi shot up in bed panting heavily covered in sweat and eyes burning with tears both shed and unshed. It took her a moment to calm down some and try to process what she had seen. Why had she just dreamed of Haruka and Michiru dying fighting what she assumed was the Dark Kingdom? Why now of all times? Was it foreshadowing of their coming battle with Beryl? Would everything they had done be for nothing? And she would end up losing them again and be able to do nothing?

"Shingo again?" Luna asked looking up from her spot on the bed.

Usagi shook her head this time. "Uranus and Neptune. I dreamed they had been killed fighting what looked like part of the Dark Kingdom."

"A premonition?" Luna asked frowning in concern.

Usagi shook her head. "I saw them fall together trying to fight off a youma hoard at their old outposts."

Luna frowned slightly at that. That was unexpected that Usagi had been able to see that. She shouldn't have been anywhere near the two when the Moon Kingdom fell so she shouldn't have been able to come even close to recalling it regardless of the bond she shared with them. As far as Luna knew there shouldn't be a way for Usagi to be able to see either possible events. It was something bearing investigating later. Luna stood up making to get off the bed taking in the visibly shaken Usagi. "Do you want me to get them?" Maybe it would give her a moment to sort out this new confusing piece of information.

Usagi hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to bother them but… "Yes please." She needed to see them again after that dream. She needed physical reassurance that it had all been just a dream.

* * *

 

"Luna?" Michiru said sitting up in surprise in the bed in surprise having woken up at the creaking of the door as Luna let herself in. Luna usually left them alone for the most part during the night preferring to keep Usagi company.

"I apologize for bothering you but Usagi had a particularly bad dream…I'm not entirely sure how but I think she may have recalled your deaths." Luna explained. Even after having a moment to try and collect her thoughts she was still confused. She was still at a loss how this was possible. Maybe the senshi bonds made it possible?

Haruka shot a questioning look at Michiru who shook her head confirming her suspicion. Neither of them remembered their deaths so how had Usagi been able to recall? Had the fever she was having weakened her enough to let one of their memories through? Luna seemed to catch on. "You don't have that particular memory." That just deepened the mystery.

"No. A lot of our memories from closer to the fall are still eluding us. You're saying Usagi somehow remembered when we fell in the Moon Kingdom?" Michiru asked a bit more than confused at that point. Unless Usagi had been there for that event, which she doubted, how had she been able to see that kind of memory when they themselves didn't even have it.

"It's either that or it's a premonition." Luna admitted making a worried face. As dangerous as the Dark Kingdom was she didn't like to entertain the thought that it might be a premonition. And if it wasn't a premonition then it was interesting that Usagi would remember what had happened before the other two had. Maybe it went back to her being sick.

Michiru got up and moved towards Usagi's room and Haruka nodded to Luna, quietly following.

* * *

 

"Hey Kitten." Haruka said giving her hair a light ruffle as they took seats on adjoining sides of Usagi. "Luna said you had one heck of a dream."

Usagi was quiet but nodded her head. As soon as the two were settled Usagi clutched their hands in hers and went into as much detail as she could remember of the dream. Luna frowned it might be a coincidence but considering what Usagi had seen she doubted it was. She remembered, for the most part, the line of succession of attacks of the Uranus line and she could never remember having heard of Sky Quake. That left one option, the last resort attacks.

"Why would powering a single attack kill me?" Luna was brought out of her thoughts by Haruka's question. Speaking up for a moment. "Technically if you put enough power behind your normal attacks it would be enough to drain you to the point it could kill you. That in itself is fairly difficult to pull off." Luna hesitated for a moment before continuing to speak, there was a reason why attacks like Sky Quake were more myth than fact. "I manage to recall most of the attacks you would normally gain as you become more trained and thus more powerful. Sky Quake is  _not_ one of them. This leaves one final option, the best-kept secret of the Silver Millennium, the last resort attacks. These were to be used only when you were backed so far into a corner that there was no conceivable way out. When the only options were go down fighting or be captured by the enemy. That was when the thought of using their self-destructive attacks tended to drift to the front ahead of all the normal tactics for taking down an enemy. Saturn's world ending self-destructive attack is the most famous of them all of course. It's a little-known secret that each Senshi had a self-destructive attack. Self-destruction in that it completely drains their user of their energy core to power it thus killing themselves in the process. Sailor Moon is the only exception to the rule as far as I know. During the time of the Silver Alliance, it made sense for them to exist. In that time, it had been seen as better to die in battle than to be captured by the enemy. Though, I must admit this is the first time I've heard any of the attacks names." Luna shook her head after a moment. Even talking about it still unnerved her. "It was considered to be courting death to discuss the attacks. Once a Senshi came into power they were told once of its existence in case a scenario came about that there was no way to get out. After that, it was simply not discussed."

"You've never mentioned these before." Michiru noted frowning at the new information. She got why Luna might not want to talk about it, but this would have been a useful piece of information to have regardless.

"Again, it was a superstition on how it was courting death, but it was how I was raised. It was how everyone with knowledge of the Senshi's abilities were raised. One simply did not talk about the last resort attacks." Luna said shaking her head slightly. Hoping that the other two would drop it. It seriously unnerved her to be discussing a past use of the last resort attacks. "As it is I did not know that Uranus' S-" Luna broke off there for a moment finding it hard to even say the attacks name. "Sk-" Luna frowned this time why was it so difficult to say two words? "Sky-" Well at least she had gotten a full word out that time. Finally giving up on it. "As I was trying to say even the names of the last resort attacks was considered forbidden knowledge. Tonight is the first time I've even heard of the formal words for any of the last resort attacks." Luna admitted finally just giving up on trying to say  _Sky Quake_. Some habits were just ingrained she guessed. Even just thinking of the attacks name seemed to send shivers down her spine.

"But why would I recall their deaths before even my own?" Usagi asked a bit confused about the whole thing. She would have thought she would remember Serenity's well ahead of remembering anyone else's. Yet here they were with her having remembered Haruka and Michiru's first off.

"It's possible the fever weakened a part of the seal on your memories and was enough to let that slip through." Luna theorized. "Why it was theirs and not yours is a good question. Possibly because they died before you would have Usagi." That still was a shot in the dark as far as figuring out why Usagi had been able to see that particular memory at this moment in time.

"But if we were at our outposts and Usagi was at the Moon Palace then she shouldn't have been able to see what happened. Why would she remember before we would?" Michiru noted in slight confusion. This whole situation felt mind-boggling.

"That is the big question of the moment isn't it." Luna confirmed with a sigh. "Best guess is it goes back to your senshi bonds." Even then, she didn't think the guardian bonds were strong enough to let that kind of thing through. Regardless of how close Usagi was to her senshi. This was seeming a weaker excuse for this every second that ticked away. She needed to get in contact with Artemis maybe he would have some answers to all these questions that kept getting raised about how the senshi bonds worked…

"Are you going to be okay now?" Haruka asked after a moment of silence had passed. The conversation seeming to have ended for the moment.

Usagi hesitated for a moment she hated to ask but…some part of her just wanted them to stay after the dream. She didn't understand why she already knew they were safe. She should be fine knowing that they were safe but something about having them physically near her made her almost forget the dream. She wasn't sure if they left if she would be able to really fall back to sleep. Usagi did not realize as her hands tightened their hold on the two. "I know it's a stupid request and I shouldn't be letting the dream, memory, whatever it actually is get to me but…"

Haruka and Michiru exchanged a surprised glance before nodding. "Of course." Usagi wasn't the one to make a ton of requests, to begin with. Haruka made herself comfortable easily, following Michiru's amused glance at her partner.

Luna watched the three for a few moments before deciding to slip out for now. It would be morning in London. Artemis should be up and available to contact and ask questions to. Hopefully, he would be able to answer her new concerns.

* * *

 

"Luna. I wasn't expecting to hear from you today. How are things going?" Artemis asked once she had made contact with him.

"It could be better. Both Usagi and Hotaru both got sick though for different reasons." Luna said frowning slightly. "Hotaru is apparently a bit sickly and Usagi I think caught her cold probably from overexerting herself using the compact."

"Did she collapse again?" Artemis asked a bit worried having heard of what had happened after healing the Teuan, Hercules. They hadn't had much of a chance to talk since the idea of a quelled rebellion had come up so what he knew he had seen through the reports Luna filed to the Senshi Council mentioning Usagi's collapse after retrieving one of the crystals.

"No, well Hotaru did but Usagi didn't. Thankfully we caught Usagi being sick before we got into another fight. Zoisite has been off doing other stuff recently. She's had time to recover without getting into another fight." Luna admitted.

"Kunzite's been a bit less active the last few days as well actually. It's a bit odd." Artemis admitted frowning.

"I wonder if that's just a coincidence." Luna mused pausing for a moment to collect herself before continuing. Even though she knew the probable answer to that thought anyway. There was very little likelihood that it was a coincidence. "I wonder if they intentionally dropped off the radar for a bit. Masato's made a few comments in passing that he believes they were together as a couple during the old Earth Kingdom." Luna commented frowning slightly going over the conversations she had had with Masato. She was thinking it was less and less likely that Masato's stories weren't the truth. But it brought so much into question it at times was hard to accept.

"I thought those two were single and we're going to be bound to Mercury and Venus?" Artemis asked raising an eyebrow. "If they were already committed to each other that wouldn't be possible to bond them to others. Queen Serenity had to know that. She wouldn't have been able to go forward with her plans, not without risking the health of everyone involved."

"I'm starting to question some of what I remember of her decisions." Luna admitted with a frown. "Too many things don't add up. I would like to say she didn't do anything, that Masato is recalling incorrectly. That they weren't bonded prior to the fall. That she would have known better then to mess with soul bonds. If nothing else Minako's mother would have told her just how bad of an idea it was." Luna let out a sigh. "I want to believe she had the best in mind but…"

"But you're having your doubts. You think she did something." Artemis concluded. It wasn't that much of a stretch. So much had been turned on its head recently. The rebellion that neither of them remembered among other things. There were just too many questions being raised and little things that didn't add up. Even if the Queen had moved with her best intentions in mind there seemed that had been more things hidden from the two of them then either of them had realized.

"Part of the problem is we don't know what the Ginzishou is fully capable of. What if Queen Serenity implanted false memories to make us believe a lie?" Luna asked. This had been something she had been entertaining for a little while now but had been almost afraid to bring up. The idea that the Queen would go that far into a lie.

Artemis' eyebrows shot up, "That's quite the accusation."

Luna sighed. "I get that but there are too many questions that don't make sense when you think about it. Conflicting memories and emotions, things like the memories showing Queen Serenity being loved by all but at the same time, there was some tension prior to the Moon Kingdom invasion by Beryl's forces though we can't call the exact semantics of why. If she was that loved why would there have been tension between her and the other planets ruling courts? As much as neither of us wants to entertain the idea what if she did try to mess with them?"

"Luna? What changed?" Artemis asked seeming to realize she was leaving a detail out.

"Usagi…she remembered something earlier tonight that by all means shouldn't have been possible from what I know about guardian bonds." Luna confessed. "She remembered Uranus and Neptune's death in the Silver Millennium."

Artemis inhaled sharply. Even with the strength of the guardian bonds that shouldn't be possible. That kind of memory and ability to have it would suggest a much stronger and deeper bond then what he knew was capable of being formed between guardian and protected. "That shouldn't be possible." Artemis said frowning slightly. Even if Usagi had an exceptionally strong bond with her guardians. "Princess Serenity's soul mate bond was to Endymion before the fall. If anything, she would remember his before her guardians." The only kind of bond that should allow Usagi to remember the death of someone that far away would be a soul bond. Serenity had been bonded from what he knew but not to two of the Outer Senshi. A soul mate bond was the only kind that could bring back those memories.

"I know that. That's why I am even more confused about all of this. Artemis, what if..." Luna trailed off too afraid to ask.

"Are you sure she wasn't having a premonition? I know you said she really doesn't have much in the way of psychic abilities but…" Artemis trailed off there in thought. Not that he liked to entertain the idea of someone having a premonition of the senshi dying fighting Beryl.

"Fairly sure. Usagi said they had their talismans. Even if it was a premonition, it would take more power than those two can draw on currently to use their talismans." Luna pointed out. The talismans would be useful against Beryl and her forces, but they were out of reach for the moment. The only that could arguably draw on her talisman maybe Pluto and that was because she had been at it for so long.

A short silence lapsed between the two of them. "Probably the person that would be able to answer questions like this once upon a time would be Minako due to her ties to Venus but considering her own lack of memories…" Artemis trailed off there.

"She probably could answer our questions about as much as anyone else could at the moment." Luna realized with a sigh. "Considering it possible that some memories are false, I'm not sure if she could answer our questions correctly even if she wanted to."

"What about Setsuna? She's the only one that probably has enough intact memories to answer the questions?" Artemis suggested.

"Tried asking her before. It did give some insight, but she did say at the time she might not be able to answer all our questions. I'm not sure if I should try again or not. She's bound to the time gates and restricted in what she can say, even of the things she does know, after all." Luna admitted with a sigh. Setsuna was the easiest to get the correct answer from but there was still a possibility that she wouldn't be able to answer her for one reason or another.

"Well, she is the senshi of time and space. Being mysterious seems to come with the job and probably for a good reason." Artemis pointed out.

Luna agreed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask again. Any idea if you and Minako will be able to come home soon?"

"We're still running into youma fairly frequently even if we're not always seeing Kunzite. I don't think its a good idea to pull out just yet. Plus, it's the middle of the semester, the last thing Minako needs is to be missing more school time." Artemis made a face at that. "I miss you."

"I miss you too Artemis. Hopefully, this will be over sooner." Luna said giving a sad smile. They exchanged a few more pleasantries before signing off. Luna making her way back to Usagi's room. Artemis was right there best hope of any answers lay with Setsuna, but the question of the moment was, would she answer them?

* * *

 

"How much do you remember of the outposts we were stationed at Haruka?" Michiru asked quietly a little while later. There were still in Usagi's room. The girl had long fallen back to sleep but neither of them felt like moving.

"Other than a few flashes here and there. Nothing really. Honestly what she described was more filled in then some of my own memories." Haruka said shaking her head slightly. One hand running through Usagi's bangs. "What about you?"

"Nothing really concrete. Everything is still mostly concentrated to the days before I was a Senshi." Michiru noted. It was such an oddity to her that their Senshi days were the thing eluding them the most. Their Senshi days were the events that would have been most recent to their deaths. You would think the most recent stuff would have been the first remembered and not the last to come to them. Yet here they were in that exact opposite situation.

"Do you know what happened on the Moon on that one night?" Haruka asked after a moment. She had no idea what had gone down the night the Silver Alliance fell. Michiru might have something more than she did. Though if Michiru had apparently died before she had the answer was probably no.

"When it fell?" Michiru asked for clarification at Haruka's nod she continued. "Hard to say at this moment. If they were merciful. Serenity and her guardians' deaths were quick and mostly painless. However, considering the Dark Kingdom's hatred towards everything from the Silver Alliance…"

"They probably suffered in their final moments with Serenity bearing the worst." Haruka realized what she was getting at. Maybe, in the end, they had gotten off "light" so to speak because they were so far removed from the action. Then again, she had no clue how long the two of them had been fighting when Usagi had seen them die. "Maybe its best she doesn't remember." Haruka said in thought. Usagi seemed to have enough things haunting her dreams without remembering her death.

"I don't know if we'll have a choice in that matter." Michiru noted. She had a feeling when the time came they would all remember how they died. Whether they wanted to or not. "When the time comes we'll probably remember what happened regardless of our own wishes on the matter."

Usagi brought their attention fully back to her as she started to toss and turn in her sleep. Mumbling something that neither quiet caught. "Another nightmare." Michiru realized. "Try shaking her to see if it won't bring her out of it but do it carefully." She had a small bit of experience with nightmares since her younger sister Misako had had some growing up. Misako hadn't been one to lash out in her dreams, but she had heard of the occurrence before, so it was best to be on edge to make sure none of them somehow ended up with a black eye. Not everyone came out of a nightmare the same way as became apparent when the shaking managed to get Usagi to come out of the nightmare only to send an arm flying. "I said carefully." Michiru scolded Haruka as she found herself holding Usagi's fist.

"I thought I was being careful." Haruka muttered to herself. Michiru never did this on the rare occasion she had nightmares.

Usagi blinked a few times seeming to get her bearings before retracting her arm. "Sorry." Usagi apologized once she realized she had nearly hit Haruka.

"No harm done." Haruka noted making a note in the future if they had to wake up Usagi from a nightmare to be aware of possible flying arms. Giving her hair a light ruffle to assure the girl that there was no harm done. Her reflexes were quick enough that Usagi hadn't done anything more than startle her, but it was best to be alert for whenever next time turned out to be.

"Shingo again?" Michiru guessed. A lot of Usagi's fever dreams seemed to center around her younger brother. Though occasionally something Moon Kingdom slipped through. Like they had seen earlier.

Usagi made a confirmation noise at the question. "Thanks for staying." Usagi said after a moment. She honestly had expected them to go back after she had fallen back to sleep.

"Are your dreams always so dark kitten?" Haruka asked. It seemed like most of the time when they came across Usagi dreaming it was never of something pleasant.

"Not always. I do dream of happier times on occasion." Usagi said after a moment. "It just seems like when I'm sick most of it…"

"Isn't happy?" Michiru guessed. Between the fever dreams being so focused around Shingo and the memory that had lead them to this very position that seemed to be the trend at least. Usagi gave a reluctant nod at that.

"Do you remembered how you died?" Michiru asked after a short silence. This had been bugging her for a while. The idea that Usagi recalled their deaths but didn't know hers, or they still didn't have their own memories of theirs.

Usagi thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I still don't remember that night. I think the part of me that knows how it happened is scared for whenever I do remember. We were being invaded by an alien force. I just can't imagine it having been easy or quick." Her hand absentmindedly rubbing a spot on her abdomen. Tonight's memory had kind of cemented her thoughts on what could have happened. If they had sent a miniature army after Haruka and Michiru's past selves, just what had they sent after the royal family and her guardians? Another task force or something a lot scarier and nightmare-inducing? "I don't know, maybe she got lucky and was caught in the crossfire and died before anyone even realized she had been hit, but…"

"You don't think that's what happened." Michiru realized what she wasn't saying. And she was inclined to agree with her on this one.

Usagi nodded her head after a moment. Somehow, she just knew even without her memories intact that her death had been far from a short event. She let out a yawn exhaustion starting to catch back up with her again. "You could go back if you wanted to." Usagi said half asleep again already. She appreciated them staying but she didn't want to end up being a bother to the two of them. She felt better than after she had woken up initially from remembering their deaths.

Haruka glanced over at Michiru who shook her head at the unasked question. She was good for staying. "We're good for now."

"Thanks." A moment later Usagi's light snores indicated she had fallen back to sleep.

"You know the longer we know her the more I can't understand why someone put her through the wringer that she was forced through before we met her." Haruka said after a moment going back to running a hand through Usagi's bangs.

"Yuki?" Michiru clarified realizing who Haruka was probably talking about.

"Who else could I really be talking about?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow. Michiru shrugged her shoulders, there was a slight possibility Haruka had been talking about the Dark Kingdom. But she had been pretty sure the comment wasn't about them. "Did you ever find out anything special about her or why she decided to go after Usagi?" Haruka asked after a moment.

Michiru shook her head. "I looked. Did quite a bit of digging. Everything I found indicates she's a normal girl. A rich girl but no signs of anything else, beyond her apparent bullying tendencies. Why she picked Usagi to go after her is still a mystery." Though sometimes bullies really didn't have a 'reason' as anyone else could understand. They often went after the weakest, the easiest to hurt or make weak if they weren't already so, or at least what they perceived as such... or it could even be jealousy or someone who reminded them of themselves on some level. It wasn't an easy thing to figure, why bullies picked people. Perhaps she was jealous of Usagi's kind heart?

The fact Usagi had managed to survive the ordeal and was still there was a testament to her own character. Not everyone could deal with what she had gone through and live to tell the tale. She had kept going with the hope that one day it would all get better. That showed how strong the blonde was, both in and out of battle.

* * *

 

Usagi was almost recovered when the others had sensed a shift in the timeline signifying Zoisite was going to act within the next day. They had to decide now whether or not to go with the original plan or leave Ryo open to Zoisite's attack.

"I think the biggest concern outside of Usagi healing too soon and possibly making herself sicker is if we do go the Zoisite goes after Ryo route there's still the issue of the fact the crystal could end up with any of the three that are seeking it. While it ending up with Tuxedo Kamen would be more of a nuisance than anything else, there's still the concern of it ending up with Zoisite." Luna surmised.

"I can handle a healing spell." Usagi grumbled more to herself than to the others. Knowing it would fall on deaf ears pretty much. They had made it clear on where they stood on the subject.

"What about you two? You have the best idea of how the decision making would affect the present." Michiru said turning her attention to Setsuna and Ryo.

"We're not omniscient Michiru. We both have limits to our abilities. I can see long-term more easily while Ryo can see the more short term. Usually anyways. Major event horizons that can affect the time stream itself and how it flows tend to either help or limit my abilities." Setsuna said shaking her head. Even then how much she could see tended to vary from day to day. The closer you got to a major event horizon, a turning point in the time stream the harder it was to see long term. As they were approaching a huge event horizon with the Ginzishou her abilities to see far out were becoming a bit wackier, but her own short-term abilities were getting stronger in response. Something this short-term was hard to read even for someone as strongly sensitive to the time stream as her and possibly Ryo.

"Can either one of you answer the question of what would happen if Ryo was allowed to actually be targeted by Zoisite." Haruka asked. More specifically who would end up with the last rainbow crystal.

Setsuna concentrated for a moment before shaking her head. This was too short term for her, unfortunately. The next set of events she could see clearly involved Zoisite and some sort of amusement park. Ryo on the other hand possibly could. Ryo followed suit after a moment shaking his own head. Yes, he was better at short-term then Setsuna but… "There are too many factors for me to be able to latch on for certain who gets the crystal."

"It's the last rainbow crystal. I can handle one last go at it. I am almost over this stupid cold anyway." Usagi argued. She wasn't even sure why she was adding her two cents in at this point. Most of the others had seemed to have decided to ignore her for the moment.

"Do you really think you can handle this Usagi? You've had a hard time with this before when you were at full health." Michiru pointed out. Point and case being the Hercules incident.

"It's the last time I am going to have to do this for a while. I can handle it." Usagi said shrugging slightly. She would make herself seem fine if she could. She wasn't going to let anyone else be in danger due to her own incompetence.

"We should call Hotaru." Luna said more to herself then Usagi. They needed all the help they could get at the moment.

"I don't want to expose her and make her sick again." Usagi hesitated at the suggestion not even opening her eyes to look at Luna. Hotaru had just gotten better and with her own compromised immune system, she didn't want to be the one responsible for making their youngest member sick a second time.

"You're going to let us call her or else we aren't going to go forward with this and that's final." Luna said finally putting her foot down. She was beginning to question her decision though. They needed that last rainbow crystal. But making Usagi sicker in the process might be the worst decision.

"Is she even going to respond though? We haven't talked to her at all since the last incident with a rainbow crystal carrier." Haruka pointed out. Not for lack of trying at times admittedly.

"Usagi might be able to get her to come." Luna said after a moment. She hadn't thought of that problem to be honest. She had a feeling it wouldn't be an issue, but it was a concern.

* * *

 

"I'm kind of surprised it's taken us this long to go after the last rainbow crystal." Hotaru admitted as Usagi let her into the apartment. She had been hesitant to come when Usagi had first called her. She knew eventually she was going to have to face the remaining senshi about her own prosthetics but that didn't make doing it any easier. When Usagi had pressed the importance of her being there she found she couldn't say no.

"That's partly my fault. I've been out with that cold the last few days." Usagi admitted scratching her cheek slightly. "Otherwise we would probably already have the rainbow crystal. The others won't tell me how long they've known Ryo is the last holder. I get a feeling they've known for a while."

"Sorry you caught my cold." Hotaru said after a moment.

"Don't feel too bad. I was feeling a bit worn down even before. We probably caught it from the same person rather than one of us catching it from the other." Usagi admitted making a face. While she definitely hadn't been sick at first all of the events around the rainbow crystals had definitely been dragging her down when she stopped to think about it. "Just bad luck that we both got sick so close to each other."

"Did they tell you I haven't talked to them since the last rainbow crystal carrier?" Hotaru asked deciding to get the topic away from colds.

"Yeah, they mentioned you were still avoiding them." Usagi admitted after a moment. "I think Haruka's still a bit grumpy about stuff being hid from her and Michiru or at least she was at first. She seemed to be better about it the last couple of days. Especially after I pointed out some of your behavior might have been in response to some of their early behavior."

"I'll admit I may have overreacted. I'm just not really used to the conversation about them going well with anyone who isn't involved in my treatment." Hotaru admitted. She felt a bit bad for avoiding them for a while but after so long with the same track record it was a hard trend to buck.

Usagi reached out ruffling Hotaru's hair slightly. "Trust me I know all too well what you mean." Her own mind flashing to the various incidents at Juuban. She let out a sigh after a moment. "Do any of your classmates actually know about it?" Usagi asked frowning slightly. She would have thought with how well Hotaru kept them covered the answer to that question was no. But she might be off.

"A couple at the beginning before I got better at keeping them covered and was a bit more trusting…after that what everyone else has heard is rumors. It's just hard when people tend to make faces when they actually see it." Hotaru admitted. A short silence passed before. "Do you really think this will go okay?"

"I did the same thing when they first found out about mine." Usagi said with a shrug. "They might get mad at you for avoiding them, though I doubt it." Usagi paused for a moment thinking. "Actually, I technically am guilty of worse."

That caused Hotaru to look at her curiously. "What exactly did you do?"

"I took on Nephrite alone." Usagi admitted a bit sheepishly. "It wouldn't have been so bad if Nephrite hadn't tried to kill us with an elevator." Seeing Hotaru's wide eyes. "Hey, I'm fine now. I'll be the first to admit it was a stupid action and thankfully the others got to me before anything could really happen." Nowadays she wouldn't consider repeating the action.

"I'm kind of surprised by some of the things he's done before he came to our side." Hotaru said after a moment. Hotaru had only a few limited exchanged with Masato. Mostly the few times he had shown up after school to talk to Naru. And he hadn't seemed very aggressive towards her or the others but then again she hadn't known him when he was still an agent of the Dark Kingdom…

"This was well before he was considering switching sides, I think. He was a bit more aggressive." Usagi confessed. Actually, now that she thought about it, once Masato had started moving towards switching sides his plots had gotten a lot tamer. She wasn't sure if he even realized that little fact. "It will be alright Hotaru." Usagi tried to reassure the younger girl giving her a pat on the shoulder.

* * *

 

It was a bit awkward at first. No one really knew how to get the conversation started. Michiru was the one to breach the silence. She had been less annoyed as Haruka had when they had first found out. She had figured there must have been an underlying reason, they just didn't know of it yet. Same thing with Usagi, they hadn't given her a reason to doubt they would handle her situation well, but she had still freaked out though they hadn't understood as to why at the time. Now looking back having actual knowledge of what had happened with Yuki. Usagi's early behavior and subsequent freak out over them knowing about her prosthetics made a lot more sense. But then, that was Usagi and not Hotaru. Which raised the question. "Just how bad do some of your classmates go after you over these?"

"Most of them don't know about them. The couple of kids that found out about them, in the beginning, are not among the girls that sometimes bully me. The ones that bully me…I'm not sure what the story is." Hotaru admitted after a moment. Jealousy, hatred, she wasn't entirely sure what their motivation to be honest.

"Bullies." Usagi noted more to herself than to others. Bullies didn't really need a reason sometimes. She knew that best of anyone outside of Hotaru. The turn of Yuki's behavior was still something that confused her. Even over a year on from the incident.

"I just don't like talking about them. It's hard to think that someone will accept me with these when I myself have a hard time accepting them." Hotaru admitted. Part of her reluctance to accept them wasn't just from the other girl's behavior when she stopped to think about it, but from her own feelings towards the cybernetic implants. Maybe if she could move on to accept them at some point it would get easier, but she had these for almost seven years so far and she still had issues with them. She didn't see that changing anytime soon.

Michiru and Haruka looked curious and Hotaru sighed. "There was a bad fire when I was a kid. It destroyed our old house as well as the old Mugen Gaken campus. It nearly killed my Mom and I. Dad was out when it started." Hotaru said.

"Are they always going to look like that?" Haruka asked after a moment. She really didn't mind their appearance once you got past the initial shock. Living with limbs that looked like that couldn't be the easiest task she imagined.

"No, eventually these will get replaced. I'm a good year off of the next set being ready." Hotaru admitted after a moment. "I knew I was going to have to tell you eventually for that reason alone, I am put under when they get replaced. That still doesn't make talking about them easier…"

"So that's something we'll deal with when the time comes." Haruka noted. It wouldn't be a problem. They had managed to fight without Hotaru before she had become Saturn and they could fight without her again if it came down to it. It was still something they needed to know.

"I really hope by that point the Dark Kingdom has been defeated." Usagi said more to herself than to them. Another year or two of the Dark Kingdom was something she dreaded. She wanted some downtime. Time to be 'normal' again. And the idea that might be years off was something she dreaded.

Further conversation was cut off by the doorbell going off. "That's got to be Setsuna with Ryo." Usagi said standing up to get the door. Setsuna had stepped out for a moment with Ryo to allow them to talk without Ryo being there. Giving them around a half hour. Hotaru would probably still need to talk to Setsuna at some point but at least one of the big conversations was finally out of the way.

* * *

 

Somehow, even with the whole group here, there was still some hesitation about Usagi healing Ryo. "You said you were going to be fine a couple of times and ended up knocking yourself out." Michiru reminded her. Plus, there was the suspicion she had that wearing herself out had made Usagi susceptible to the cold in the first place.

Usagi shook her head after a moment. "It's the last of the rainbow crystals. Even if I am tired after this there isn't any more of them to deal with. I'll be able to deal with the tiredness and get a chance to re-cooperate without an immediate threat of dealing with it again."

"That's true." Luna agreed with some reluctance. And with the rainbow crystal out of play that meant Usagi didn't necessarily need to be involved in the plot to retrieve them from Zoisite. Would it be easier if is she was? Probably. They could always play it off as she couldn't make it or something.

"Let's just get it over with." Usagi said taking the initiative to transform first. The others quickly following suit.

Getting the Moon Compact out she waited until the others were in position and then pointing it in Ryo's usual direction she said, "Moon Healing Escalation!" It was a bit weird this time. The spell lasted only a few minutes before the yellow crystal came out and went flying making for Hotaru to catch it. That wasn't the different part though, more so how she felt afterwards. She wasn't really that tired just had a headache. That was new she noted rubbing her forehead slightly. "Are you all right?" She thought she heard Hotaru ask as they dropped their henshins again.

"I'm fine, just a headache this time." Usagi assured them. It was a bit surprising and while she did feel a bit tired, she suspected that dealt more with the stupid cold then the healing.

Luna frowned slightly at that. "Maybe it deals with your Moon Kingdom memories. Are you remembering anything new?" Considering this was the last piece of the Ginzishou it wasn't totally off basis for thinking it could be connected to that.

"I don't know. I don't think I remembered anything new." Usagi admitted after a moment of thought. Though it was a bit hard to concentrate or sort through anything with a headache.

"The headache might be just exhaustion." Setsuna noted after a moment. Though there was a good chance it went back to the Silver Millennium in some way or another she noted to herself. Even if Usagi wasn't aware of it yet.

"I really don't feel any more tired than before we started." Usagi muttered. Then again, she had been tried to begin with.

"How long do we have until Zoisite tries to target you?" Luna asked turning her attention back to Ryo for the moment. Now that it was apparent Usagi seemed to be in mostly okay condition time to deal with the other issue.

"It looks like it's going to be sometimes in tomorrow afternoon." Ryo said after a moment scrunching his face up in concentration momentarily. "In a nearby park."

"They really like the park." Haruka commented more to herself. Or she guessed Zoisite did at least. What was it about parks that kept attracting the attention of the Dark Kingdom?

"What will happen if you don't go to the park?" Hotaru asked out of curiosity.

"Not sure." Ryo said frowning slightly. "Most of what I can see seems to lead to that park."

"It might not be an option to be somewhere else." Setsuna explained. "Sometimes the time stream can be weirdly rigid on certain details. Like where an event has to take place. There is a chance no matter what we try it will end up back there. Only factor that might change is the date of the event."

"Park it is then." Luna said finalizing the decision. It may not be the ideal choice, but it seemed it was the only one. "Are you going to be up to this Usagi?" she asked turning back to her.

"Yep." Usagi assured her.

* * *

 

The plan went well at first. Ryo had the timing and location right. The nearby park the following afternoon. The group was mostly scattered around the clearing Ryo was sitting on a bench waiting for Zoisite to show up so Zoisite wouldn't be aware of their presence at first. Zoisite showed up as predicted and tried to use the Black Crystal of his on Ryo, everything after that didn't go according to plan, unfortunately.

"Get out of here Ryo." Moon called over her shoulder as they moved into the clearing, turning her attention fully to the general. Now that they had Zoisite there Ryo needed to get out of the way of possible attacks.

Zoisite started swearing as he apparently finally realized that this was a trap to get the rainbow crystals in his possession. Moon saw what she thought was an opening and tried to take it. Most of the others were distracted by the low-level minions that Zoisite had summoned when he had been unsuccessful turning Ryo back into his youma form. But they seemed to be handling it okay. So that just left her to deal with Zoisite and his rainbow crystals.

"One should be careful to play with fire Princess." Zoisite said sneering at her before starting to power up one of those ice crystals. Moon blinked once or twice before the situation hit and she let go of Zoisite. Getting out of the way of the ice crystal attack probably at the last second. As soon as she let go he took the opportunity to teleport out. The princess comment was unexpected. She hadn't expected anyone outside of the Senshi to possibly realize she was Serenity. This could complicate things.

"Are you all right Moon?" Uranus asked coming up alongside her now that the other youma were taken care of.

"I'm okay. He didn't get a chance to launch the ice crystal before I let go." Moon reassured them. "He surprised me is all." Feeling a bit bad for letting Zoisite's distraction get to her. She had gotten awfully close to him before he had made that comment. Maybe if she hadn't let the comment get to her she would have been able to retrieve those rainbow crystals.

"The ice crystals are new." Neptune noted. And a bit concerning since it seemed more dangerous at least to her then the energy blasts that Masato wielded once upon a time.

"Not really. We've never engaged him in close combat before, so we haven't had a chance to see what he could do when actually fighting. Masato did say their abilities varied." Moon pointed out. Sure, Masato had those energy blasts they had seen on display pre being healed by the Dark Kingdom. The way Masato had talked each of the generals varied on what they could do as far as abilities, so it wasn't the world's biggest surprise that Zoisite wielded a completely different weapon then what Masato had.

"What could Jadeite do anyway?" Saturn asked turning to the other girls. Jadeite had been before her time so all she knew was what she had seen on the television reports of the Haneda incident.

"I don't know. I had one encounter with him during his run as Beryl's top general." Usagi shook her head.

"Technopathy." Uranus said after a moment of concentration. Jadeite seemed to have a way with technology that was a bit abnormal when you thought about it.

"That probably is the closest word." Neptune agreed. "The airport incident where he was controlling airplanes was the first time we had seen it on such a large scale. But we had seen him using technology in strange ways before then."

"That seems like an odd ability considering, according to Masato, there current day abilities they had in some form during the days of the Silver Millennium." Moon noted scrunching up her face slightly.

"It's possible his ability was something else entirely during the time of Elysian and it adapted to be something else in the modern-day era." Neptune suggested. Though what could morph into an ability to control technology was a good question. For now, there was something else that was bothering her. "What did he mean by Princess?" Neptune asked frowning slightly. Maybe she had misheard but she could have sworn she had heard Zoisite call Usagi that. While if you got really technical about it they were all princesses once upon a time. This felt different somehow.

Moon made a face at that. Oh boy, this had been a conversation Luna had been trying to avoid. "Let's ask Luna."

End Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap. We'll be back to our regular schedule on the 28th of every other Friday. Since I won't be traveling for the next month.
> 
> As always please remember to leave a review or a comment. I do appreciate them even if they're little things.
> 
> Preview for 24: 
> 
> “WouldyoupleasecomewithMasatoandItoDreamland?” Naru rushed through asking the next day at school.
> 
> “Naru. Naru! Slow down and breath. Speak slowly.” Usagi said frowning. It had been so rushed she hadn’t been exactly sure what Naru had asked. Other than catching the names Masasto and Dreamland. 
> 
> “Would you please come with Masato and I to Dreamland?” Naru repeated after taking a deep breath. She hadn’t really meant to rush it but she was so nervous about the coming weekend it had come out that way. 
> 
> “Much better.” Usagi said. “Is it official or just 'friends'?” Usagi grinned loving the look on Naru's face. Last, she had checked they had mostly just been talking but it was clear Naru was still carrying a torch for Nephrite/Masato. 
> 
> “It's a date. This is going to be our first going out since I found out he was Nephrite. Please come with us Usagi!” Naru seemed between begging and explaining nervously as she wrung her hands so hard Usagi wondered how she didn't hurt herself or her fingers. 
> 
> Usagi gave it a moment as she thought on it, a double date would be a good way to handle this... “But I’m not dating anyone.” She frowned. She didn’t mind tagging along but it wasn’t exactly a double date if she didn’t have anyone to go with. Maybe one of the girls could come? But the only person who wasn’t dating that she knew of was Hotaru so that couldn’t be a date. 
> 
> “So just bring one of the girls along. Or all of them. I really don’t care who you bring. You can come alone if you want!" Naru confessed.
> 
> That's it for this week. See everyone on the 28th!


	24. Uncertain Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone. Welcome back to this week's chapter.
> 
> As mentioned previously the early updates are just for travel weeks. So we're back to the regularly scheduled every other Friday until November.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or comment at the end.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 24

Uncertain Steps

Setsuna had bowed out rather than get involved in the possible conversation with Luna about the way Zoisite had addressed Usagi saying she had other business she needed to take care of. She asked them to fill her in at a later date. Usagi suspected she was avoiding it because she knew.

"What were you doing to draw that kind of comment?" Luna asked frowning at Usagi after she had been brought up to speed on how the park situation had gone. It sounded like she had been actively engaging the general. Not the smartest idea. Possibly brainwashed or not, he was still a dangerous enemy. She assumed the others must have been occupied or else they wouldn't have let Usagi get anywhere near enough to him to pull a stunt that would draw that kind of comment.

"Just trying to get the rainbow crystals from him. Not sure why he decided to call me that." Usagi confessed with a shrug. Well, she kind of knew why he had used it. She suspected it was a way to distract her, so he could escape. If that was the case, then it had worked.

"Probably as a way to startle you." Luna said with a sigh voicing Usagi's thoughts. Having someone make that kind of comment would be startling, especially an enemy you thought didn't know that information.

"I thought we weren't sure what Usagi's status was back on the Moon?" Hotaru asked after a moment. When the topic had come up before a lot of suggestions had flown around. But no definitive answers. Last she checked that hadn't changed.

"We're not. Zoisite might remember something we don't thus the comment. No one so far here seems to have the exact same memories. It might be possible he remembers something we do not." Luna said after a moment. While she was getting closer to being sure each day that Usagi and Serenity were the same person, with all the other problems with her memory recently she wasn't ready to say for sure.

"I find it really an odd idea that our enemy might know who we are before we know the answer to that question." Haruka said rubbing her forehead. It felt really absurd and worrying.

* * *

On top of everything else going on Usagi had developing drama at Mugen. Her friendship with Hotaru was beginning to draw the younger girls' bullies to her, something both girls had been anticipating from the moment Usagi had stepped in back in April. It still didn't make having to deal with some bullies a second time any less of a nuisance.

"Crap I thought I got away from this when I moved out of Juuban." Usagi grumbled to herself as she looked at her locker. She had come back from class today to find someone had somehow gotten in and left a rather nasty note. Rather mild when compared to some of the things she had lived with at Juuban, but it was still annoying. Out of sheer habit really, she didn't use her locker much. She had a few things that she absolutely might need and didn't want to carry back and forth and that was it. Who knew how long the note had actually even been there?

"That wouldn't be most people's reactions to a note like that." Hiroko noted clearly amused by it. She had tagged along with Usagi on break just out of sheer boredom really. There were having a small interlude between classes and she'd come. She had nothing else to do right then so 'why not' as she had said.

"Most people don't expect it." Usagi commented with a shrug grabbing what she needed and tossing the note in the trash. Not even bothering to read it really outside of a cursory glance. She doubted there was anything new there that she hadn't heard before for what felt like what a hundred times.

"I wish I could brush it off that easily." Hiroko muttered.

Usagi glanced over at her with a frown as they started making their way back to the classroom. "It wasn't always that easy. At first, I cried hysterically like a big baby." It was hard now to let a note get riled up when she had been routinely dealing with actual threats to her body for months on end. When she had been faced with a near death threat an insulting note looked like child's play in comparison.

"Ignoring them might not be the best idea." Hiroko said after a moment of silence passed between the two. "That usually causes them to escalate, in my own experience."

"Ignoring them is the only tactic I know." Usagi admitted. That had been the tactic she had been told to use at Juuban. Not that it had ever worked. "Besides I have no clue who left the note."

* * *

 _WouldyoupleasecomewithMasatoandItoDreamland?"_ Naru rushed through asking the next day at school.

"Naru. Naru! Slow down and breath. Speak slowly." Usagi said frowning. It had been so rushed she hadn't been exactly sure what Naru had asked. Other than catching the names Masato and Dreamland.

"Would you please come with Masato and I to Dreamland? _"_ Naru repeated after taking a deep breath. She hadn't really meant to rush it but she was so nervous about the coming weekend it had come out that way.

"Much better." Usagi said. "Is it official or just 'friends'?" Usagi grinned loving the look on Naru's face. Last, she had checked they had mostly just been talking but it was clear Naru was still carrying a torch for Nephrite/Masato.

"It's a date. This is going to be our first going out since I found out he was Nephrite. Please come with us Usagi!" Naru seemed between begging and explaining nervously as she wrung her hands so hard Usagi wondered how she didn't hurt herself or her fingers.

Usagi gave it a moment as she thought on it, a double date would be a good way to handle this... "But I'm not dating anyone." She frowned. She didn't mind tagging along but it wasn't exactly a double date if she didn't have anyone to go with. Maybe one of the girls could come? But the only person who wasn't dating that she knew of was Hotaru so that couldn't be a date.

"So just bring one of the girls along. Or all of them. I really don't care who you bring. You can come alone if you want!" Naru confessed.

"I guess that would work." Usagi consented after a moment. They could always use it as a way to make up for the lack of fun time they had the first time they had gone to Dreamland. And now that she was out about her legs she didn't have to worry about making up some excuse about not being able to go on some rides. It should be a better time all around. Though… "I guess you're more nervous about dating him now that you know he was actually a Dark Kingdom general then you seemed to be before." Usagi noted. Naru had never asked her to come along on her dates when Masato was still a part of the Dark Kingdom.

"I think it's partly because I feel like I'm supposed to be living up to something I don't even know about." Naru confessed. At least that was her best stab at why she was so nervous about going out with Masato this time.

"Naru he fell for  _you_." Usagi pointed out. Well, technically he probably had fallen for Naru because of their past lives. She doubted he would have been very interested in her if he hadn't at least partly fallen for her. And then there was the fact that the first times they had met he definitely hadn't had enough memories of the old Earth Kingdom to get feelings off of. Or at least that was the impression she had got.

"I know. Just come, please. You don't have to be there the whole time just come," Naru pleaded. She could handle a solo date with Masato on her own she was pretty sure. Heck, she had done so technically when she had gone with him to the ball. But this was also her first real date. And between that and Zoisite lurking around it made her nervous. Sure, Zoisite didn't know Masato was now an alive civilian but if they crossed paths somehow, she had a feeling he would know immediately and then everyone would be in danger.

Usagi got a mischievous look on her face. "Oh, I know! Naru is afraid the handsome ex-dark general is going to gaze into her eyes and make her legs turn to jelly and-" "USAGI!" A mortified Naru exclaimed red to the roots of her hair.

"When are you two going to Dreamland again?" Usagi asked relenting.

"Saturday." Naru said lighting up slightly. "Thank you."

"Do you need a ride?" Usagi asked. It would be a bit of a tight fit to get everyone in the car. If they met Masato at Dreamland they could all go. Usagi wondered for a moment if the others were even available to go.

"Masato is going to pick me up." Naru confessed red-faced with a voice so quiet Usagi barely heard.

Usagi's eyebrows shot up, "At your house? Doesn't that mean you have to finally tell your Mom?"

Naru chewed her lip while subtly shifting from one foot to the other, hands wringing once again. "I was hoping to avoid that."

"Naru, if someone of Masato's age pulls up asking for you-" "I know, I know. I'll think of something." Naru sighed. Naru's Mom might put up with more stuff then her own parents at times, but this might be a bit much.

"Naru... you should tell her." Usagi pointed out.

"That's probably true." Naru agreed. "So see you Saturday at Dreamland then?"

"See you Saturday." Usagi agreed. Now she just had to convince someone to tag along.

* * *

Finding someone to tag along had turned out to be easier then she had anticipated. Hotaru had only been to a theme park once or twice when she was younger and so wished to go experience it. Once Haruka and Michiru had gotten word of where they were going and with who they had insisted on tagging along. To top it off Setsuna had somehow managed to have been talked into coming through by whom no one was answering the question. Somehow what was supposed to be a date for Masato and Naru with Usagi tagging along to keep an eye out had morphed into a full group outing.

The group of them stood outside the theme park together before Haruka got distracted and Michiru looked on with a sigh. "Well, there goes the next thirty minutes." It had been easy enough to find Naru and Masato who were hanging around his own car. Only to get sidetracked as Haruka struck up a conversation with Masato about the car Masato had driven.

"Why?" Usagi asked looking back at the other girl in confusion.

"Haruka has a racer's heart, and that includes cars. It will take that long to pull her away. Haruka races when she is able. Sometimes it seems as if she is racing the wind itself, if not one with it." Michiru explained fondly. It had been the offseason when they had first met so Usagi wouldn't know yet of Haruka's hobby since the season was only going to start up in a couple of weeks. "That car is rare and fast. Haruka is a fan of Ferrari."

"I would say I'm sorry and I should have asked him to bring something that stands out a bit less but I'm not sure if he has any less flashy cars." Naru admitted after a moment. All the cars she had seen that were his might not all be Ferrari's but were still high end. This one simply seemed to be his favorite.

"It's fine. Haruka come on. The car will be there when we're done. Now is not the time to be checking it out." Michiru pointed out.

"Sorry." Haruka apologized walking over after a moment. "I've made my Michiru jealous." Michiru rolled her eyes yet her cheeks were slightly pink.

* * *

They finally went towards the park, Haruka keeping her eyes off the cars and Michiru distracting her anytime her eyes began to stray towards them, Usagi noticed smiling a secret smile as the rest of the group talked animatedly and laughter radiated all around her from each of them. Her eyes caught those of Masato, who also seemed to find peace in the laughter of Naru in particular, and she gave him a pointed look, or what she hoped was one. If he hurt her nothing would save him, princess or no princess.

The group entered the gates of the park and all attention focused on Naru and the map in her hands. "So, what first?" Naru asked glancing at the map. The park was huge. Plenty of things to do at least.

"No shows." Haruka, Usagi, and Michiru chorused at once. That had been a consensus they had come to even before they had got to the park. All the show watching during their previous trip to take care of Jadeite's plot had kind of worn out their opinion on them.

"Not even one?" Masato asked clearly amused by the decision.

"I had enough of those to last a lifetime last time we were here. We were investigating a connection between the park and the people who went missing here. Turned out it was a youma plot under Jadeite, but we had to eliminate all the shows that could possibly be used before we stumbled across it." Usagi explained. Masato frowned before opening his mouth. "I didn't know Jadeite had used this as one of his plots." Michiru obtained a glassy look as if remembering and Haruka grimaced. Naru sighed and assented that she'd known and Usagi nodded before adding. "The airport wasn't long after."

"If Usagi hadn't picked up on it we might have missed it." Michiru supported as Usagi clearly became bashful at that moment. That had been partly why the hotline had been established. What few calls they were getting, currently at least, were easily dismissed with things being as quiet as they were but it was best to have eyes on the plots besides their own. Michiru and Haruka hadn't thought to check the park after all, and people could have died if they had missed it entirely.

"As far as plans go I have special tickets to one of the shows. These really shouldn't go to waste." Masato said shaking his head. He kind of got why they were against attending the shows. Attending nothing but shows could definitely be boring and cumbersome, but he had tickets for the Redman show it'd truly be a shame to waste them.

"I would like to go." Hotaru admitted after a moment speaking up for the first time. She hadn't really gotten a chance to go to that many theme parks growing up. Between the fire, the recovery, and her Dad being busy sometimes doing more normal kid stuff hadn't been the easiest. She had gone once or twice when she was younger before Tohoku. It was just he sometimes got so busy with work that he forgot to eat forget go out.

"Well, maybe one show wouldn't hurt." Usagi agreed. As long as it didn't turn into another day of shows she was good with it. Besides she was kind of limited on the number of rides she could go on.

"I think we can all agree that attending one show probably won't kill us even if the three of us are a little done with it." Michiru cut in before Haruka could say something. Haruka was clearly not on board with this, after all, what with her grumbling with crossed arms and glaring at nothing now.

"The show's not until the afternoon. We should have time to go on some rides and eat something." Naru hedged a suggestion to get off the topic at hand and keep the peace between everyone.

"I can go through the line for them but I may not be allowed to board some of the rides." There. Usagi had said it. Painless right? Right? There were some rides where she might still be permitted on depending on their rules for people with prosthetics.

"I thought most prosthetics were secure enough that you wouldn't have to worry about them popping off." Hotaru asked frowning slightly. Now she was wondering if her own implants would cause problems.

"We know that, but they do not." Usagi pointed out. Outside of that one incident at the bridal shop she had never had problems with her prosthetics coming loose so she wasn't concerned about losing one mid-ride. Usagi shook her head and spoke to Hotaru. "You don't use what most people consider prosthetics Hotaru. You should be fine getting on whatever ride. I on the other hand…"

"What's most likely to bar you from riding?" Michiru asked.

"Definitely anything where I'm dangling. The ones with safety bars but not dangling are probably going to be hit or miss depending on whose working them. I'm safe to ride anything with my prosthetics not everyone is and they don't know who is and who isn't so whether or not they'll let me on is going to depend on the cast member working the ride." Usagi said trying to remember all that she had read online before today. "Don't let me hold you back. I'll wait for you when that happens."

* * *

The morning had gone pretty well. They had gotten on a few rides without Usagi running into problems with riding them, but sure enough, the moment they tried to board a dangling coaster Usagi had been barred. There had been a slight disagreement. Haruka thought it was stupid that they weren't going to let her ride. Usagi had been expecting it and just told them to enjoy the ride and she would see them shortly at the exit.

Masato had chosen to stay behind this time having not been really interested in riding that particular coaster. He greeted her as she came out the exit. Setsuna had wandered off for the moment mentioning something about food. "Finally had a cast member stop you from riding huh?"

"It's not like we weren't expecting it. Still, it would have been nice." Usagi said taking a seat on the bench next to Masato, looking at the coaster with a wistful expression on her face. She had been right about one thing though Hotaru had been allowed to board without issue. She decided to shift topics for now. "How is settling into civilian life going?"

"It's nice to not have to constantly worry about Beryl and her wrath." Masato said after a moment.

"I bet. Do you miss the other generals at all?" Usagi asked curiously.

"Yes and no. Not so much what Beryl and the Dark Kingdom's magic corrupted them to be but what they once were, yes. I do miss them. I just hope that somehow, we might be able to get them out. Jadeite would be the hardest since Beryl put him in that sleep state. I wonder if after everything is said and done if there will be a way to undo Beryl's eternal sleep." Masato wondered. He missed his fellow generals, or rather, he missed the generals he had served with in another life.

"We'll find a way. We have to." Usagi refused to lose anyone else after Shingo. It wasn't something she could get away with checking out right now but in time. She was pretty sure if she did one more healing she was going to get an earful from Haruka, Michiru, and Sestuna after just having gotten over being sick. "Have you tried approaching Mamoru yet?" Usagi asked curiously.

"I don't even know how to start that conversation." Masato admitted. It didn't help that he wasn't quite sold on him being Endymion. Sure, it probably was him. But what if he was wrong? This would be so much simpler if he wasn't the only member of the generals who had regained their memories. Though that brought up a question. "Have you and the others remembered enough to correctly identify Serenity?"

Usagi hesitated slightly there which seemed to give Masato an opening as something apparently clicked in his own memories. "Wait. You're Serenity aren't you?!"

"Shhh" Usagi shushed him. "They don't know! I don't want them to worry and Luna thinks its best not to mention it until we know for sure." The conversation after the park incident with Luna had been awkward, to say the least. With Luna trying to play it off as Zoisite trying to distract them. The others had let it drop but she wasn't entirely convinced the others were completely convinced that she wasn't Serenity.

"That seems like an odd choice." Masato commented frowning slightly.

"Luna's been having trust issues with her memories ever since she found out about yours and Naru's past lives. While she thinks I'm Serenity and the memories I do have support it she doesn't want to tell them yet." Usagi admitted. "Something about not giving false hope."

"That makes sense, though, from what little I remember of meeting Serenity during the Silver Alliance there is definitely a resemblance." Masato said tilting his head slightly. He and the others hadn't had many chances to meet the Moon Court before the fall so he was going off a sparse old memory. "Still I guess I understand why you two are keeping a lid on it. Do you know if the others remember enough to have suspicions?"

"They have some suspicion. Zoisite made a passing comment during out last fight and while Luna refused to confirm it as truth and helped smooth it over but I am not sure everyone is convinced." Usagi admitted. They hadn't talked much about what the others remembered of the Silver Alliance. While she knew the other's memories were sparse she wasn't sure if they remembered enough of Serenity for them to have the same suspicions. Haruka had said before that the majority of their memories were pre senshi. "She knows eventually we'll have to tell them. For now, I want them to be happy and not worry about me, so, for now, can you keep it secret?"

"I can definitely do that. Does Naru know?" Masato asked. "Naru figured it out before Luna." Usagi admitted.

"Good to know." Masato noted. So, he couldn't talk about it with the senshi quite yet but apparently, Naru wasn't off limits. The fact the others didn't know enough about the Silver Alliance to identify their own princess raised another question in Masato's mind. "Just how much do they remember?"

"Michiru's told me before that most of their memories are from before they became Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. They didn't visit the Moon Palace that much growing up, that much we do know. The only one I don't know how much she remembers is Hotaru. We've never talked about it." Usagi admitted. Though now that she was thinking about it…. "Actually, I'm wondering if Setsuna's always known."

"Wasn't she the only member not reincarnated from the Moon Kingdom due to her post at the gates of time?" Masato reasoned. "You could probably eliminate any doubt just by asking her."

"When you put it like that it seems obvious." Usagi grumbled. Of course, Setsuna would know! She was the senshi of time and space! Why wouldn't she know whether or not she was Princess Serenity? That being said…part of her wasn't sure she was ready to know for sure if she was the moon princess. That tiny sliver of doubt wasn't something she was sure she wanted to let go of yet. She wasn't so sure she  _wanted_  to be. Actually, she was fairly sure it was something she didn't want to be true, however, she kept that to herself. The idea that she had once been destined to oversee an entire civilization like the Silver Alliance still overwhelmed her. Usagi, at her core, simply wanted to be normal and had rather mediocre dreams compared to the rest. They had big dreams. She just wanted to find love and have a family one day. Protecting people had simply become part of that dream now that she had the ability to do so but... her dreams of a quiet life were something she suspected would not come true and she feared accepting that she was the princess they were supposed to be looking for would be the end of any possibility of those dreams ever coming true.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me." Usagi grumbled spotting the bright red hair as she came out of her reverie. That particular shade of red seemed to haunt her wherever she went and was currently coming off a ride nearby with what looked suspiciously like Mamoru. Couldn't she try to go relax someplace without Yuki seeming to show out of nowhere?

Masato followed her gaze raising an eyebrow at her reaction. "Old classmate of yours?"

"Yes. Not a friendly one." Usagi let out a sigh. "Has Naru ever mentioned a girl named Yuki?" With the amount the two talked she doubted Yuki hadn't come up at some point.

"Only in passing." Masato said frowning slightly. What little Naru had said was not anything complimentary about 'Yuki', most certainly. Looking back at the bright red-haired girl Usagi had been staring at. "If that is her I wonder if the prince dating her is such a good idea." Based on the few details he had gotten from Naru in the past. The girl didn't seem like the type he wanted around him. Ultimately since they knew each other so poorly in this lifetime he probably wouldn't head in advice Masato gave him.

"Naru gave you details?" Usagi asked arching an eyebrow. For some reason, she would be surprised if Naru had actively brought up Yuki's reign of terror. Especially if it was in passing.

"No, but the little she has given and the tone she speaks of her in does speak volumes on her opinion on her." Masato explained. Naru always sounded displeased at best when the subject of her and Usagi's former classmate came up.

Usagi sighed sparing the duo a second glance. "Could we move maybe? I would rather avoid her if we can." Usagi confessed. Hand rubbing her arm for a moment. "It's led to some memorable moments." She shivered and it was clearly not the weather.

Masato glanced down at her seeing just how uncomfortable just seeing the other girl's presence was making Usagi. "Of find somewhere a bit quieter."

* * *

"Well, well. So, the whore found herself a papakatsu." The familiar jeering voice cut in before they could fully get out of the area.

Usagi let out a tired sigh at the insult. She had really been hoping to avoid the girl at all costs and they almost had made it out of range of view. No such luck getting away though. Why couldn't Yuki just leave her alone for once? Turning to face the redhead. "Hello, Yuki."

Yuki turned attention from Usagi to Masato rather than respond to her. "Better be careful keeping her around. You might end up as Burakumin." Usagi just wanted to disappear into the pavement at that comment. The other two might not understand why she made that reference. Usagi did and knew what she was indirectly referring to.

Before she could open her mouth to try and respond, Mamoru jumped in then. "Yuki, he's not involved in any relationships let alone one with a teenager." Well, there was some irony in that considering why they were here. It wasn't like a lot of people knew about Naru and Masato's relationship. From his perspective, it wasn't actually inaccurate.

"How would you know?" Yuki asked turning her attention away from Usagi and Masato for a moment.

"He's my boss Yuki." Mamoru said eyebrow going further up. Something told Usagi he hadn't seen a lot of Yuki's true behavior before. "I work as his assistant. It's my job to know these kinds of things." He would clearly remember a blonde like Usagi showing up at work on a regular basis. The hair alone would be a dead giveaway. As it was he had never seen anyone at the office with remotely near that kind of relationship towards his boss. Besides some weird part of him seemed to think that Usagi's type was not tall male brunettes. He wasn't sure where he had come to that conclusion from.

Things like this made him further question why he had agreed to go on a date with Yuki Ono in the first place. He had agreed to go on this date because she seemed nice when he had run into her in Juuban. He had been second-guessing that decision from the moment they had arrived.

"Bosses can keep secrets." Yuki said crossing her arms with a humph.

"Yuki, I am not going to have this argument. If you want to go on another date, then you will stop making those comments." Mamoru finally declared going with the one thing he knew he could hang over the younger girl's head. Not that he really was considering going on another date after how well this one went. But he needed something to get her to stop acting in such a manner. Threatening not to go on another date seemed to be the easiest way to go at the moment.

"You can't be serious." Yuki scowled. Would he seriously hold a date over her behavior towards Usagi of all people?

"I'm very serious." Mamoru said looking her dead in the eye to try and impress that this wasn't something he would be budging on.

They stared for a few moments and then finally Yuki broke. "Have it your way." She declared before stomping off around the corner.

Mamoru sighed for a moment letting her go before turning to Usagi and his boss. "I'm very sorry about that. I was unaware that she would behave this way when I agreed to go on a date with her." If he hadn't given her a ride in the first place and felt some responsibility in getting her back home, he may have already called off the date.

Usagi waved the concern off. "Don't feel too bad. I've been on the receiving end of it a lot." She would have thought leaving Juuban would mean the end of her Yuki magnet days. Apparently not. At least she hadn't tried to do anything here.

"You act like you've heard her say those comments a lot." Mamoru noted frowning slightly. Usagi's almost resignment to the comments didn't exactly speak lightly of the conversation or Yuki's attitude.

Usagi shifted slightly uncomfortable. "I think that's the first time she's ever accused me of having a papakatsu. Just one more thing to an already long list." At the end, she let out a breath feeling tired. Would Yuki ever leave her alone?

Mamoru glanced back in the direction Yuki had gone before saying reluctantly. "I better go after her. I gave her a ride here so I have to give her a ride back. If I lose sight of her that might be near impossible. I'll see you around Usagi. See you at work Mr. Sanjouin."

"ByeMamoru." Usagi said waving at him before he disappeared in the direction Yuki had last been spotted in.

* * *

"How did you two get all of the way over here?" Naru asked as the rest of the group sans Setsuna at the moment met back up with Usagi and Masato. They had wandered a decent distance in Usagi's effort to put as much distance between her and Yuki as possible. So she really hadn't put much thought into how far away from the others they had gotten at first since her primary goal had centered around Yuki.

"We ran into Yuki. Briefly." Usagi finally explained. Haruka starting to almost immediately give her a once over making sure she wasn't hurt or in any distress at that announcement. "I'm fine Haruka. Other than tossing a few derogatory comments at me and Masato she didn't do anything this time." Usagi reassured.

"After the last couple of times you've run into her…" Haruka trailed off. Michiru could be seen behind her more subtly looking her over with her ever calm gaze and Usagi felt warmth and at the same time, while it was nice, really wished they'd understand she was really fine this time. Derogatory comments aside at least Usagi hadn't been physically confronted in some manner as the garage incident this time. She really didn't want to think about where that could end up if Yuki kept up this trend. Nothing good could come of that that was for sure.

"I understand but I'm really alright." Usagi assured her again. And she did. Since, when you stopped to think about it, Haruka's reaction wasn't completely unwarranted considering how the last two run-ins had gone. She wouldn't have put it past Yuki for making something else happen if Mamoru hadn't stepped in and threatened to cancel her date if she didn't start shaping up.

"I would have thought he would have had better taste." Michiru noted almost casually. She didn't know Mamoru really at all when she thought about it. But she would have thought most people's taste was good enough to realize dating the red-headed terror was a bad idea.

"He didn't know when he agreed. She's very good at lying to people." Usagi said shaking her head. She had seen how deceiving Yuki could be when she wanted to be. She was an excellent actor at the very minimum. It wasn't a stretch for Mamoru to have missed her true personality at first.

* * *

"Setsuna? Can I talk to you for a moment away from the others?" Usagi asked walking over to the older woman as she returned to the group's new spot.

"This really isn't a private place?" Setsuna noted placing the food down next to Masato raising an eyebrow. They could probably talk about some stuff and not have other people realize what they were actually discussing but they wouldn't be able to talk about it very openly here.

"I know." Usagi confessed. If they talked in generic enough terms no one would probably figure out what they were actually talking about.

Setsuna paused at that thinking for a moment. "Masato can you tell the others Usagi and I have stepped away for a moment?"

"Don't be away too long." Masato agreed waving them off. If Usagi was going to continue their conversation's topic with Setsuna then it made sense she wanted to be away from the others.

"So what is it you wanted to ask?" Setsuna asked once she was sure they were far enough away from the ride that the others wouldn't overhear them once they finally got off.

"I was wondering if you knew who the princess is." Usagi started off with deciding to sidestep again the idea that she was the Moon Princess. First, confirm Setsuna knew who the princess was and then from there decide if she wanted to know for sure then and there if she was the princess. "You do know don't you?" Usagi asked watching the older woman's reactions.

Setsuna sighed this was supposed to be something Usagi discovered when she found the Ginzishou not earlier. Best to toss it up to another thing that had gotten messed with as a result of the Tohoku quake. "Do you want to know?"

Usagi hesitated there thinking for a moment finding herself wrying her hands a bit. "I suspect. Luna does too. Another part of me just wants to be normal, or as normal as possible." It took her a moment to realize with the way Setsuna had worded it she had might have just confirmed her suspicions.

"Knowing one's past can be useful but also difficult at times." Setsuna said though whether the comment was directed at Usagi or not she wasn't sure.

"Yeah." Usagi muttered running a hand through her bangs still trying to decide. For some reason, she had thought once she knew a source she could get the answer from she would know where she stood on wanting the knowledge. However, knowing Setsuna know hadn't changed her indecision one bit.

"Regardless this probably isn't the best place for you to be confirming this kind ofinformation." Setsuna said more to herself than to Usagi. "If you're unsure at the moment you still have time to question me about it when you've made your decision." This wasn't a decision that needed to be made overnight.

* * *

When Masato had told them earlier that he had tickets to a park show, a special performance of a super Sendai show, Redman, Usagi hadn't been what she was expected. She still wasn't sure how they had managed to get in considering the line she had seen outside. Probably Masato had done something with his influence was her best guess on the matter. Guess knowing a millionaire had its perks.

"Did you ever watch any of the Redman shows growing up?" Haruka asked out of curiosity as they settled into some seats.

"No super Sendai stuff like this was more Shingo's thing." Usagi admitted after a moment. The only time she had seen Sendai shows growing up had been really in passing. Ironically she had been more into things like Precure as a kid. "He would have loved this." Usagi said more to herself than to the others wistfully wishing for her lost younger brother again. This time about the times they had argued over who had control of the TV that particular evening.

"Sorry for bringing it up." Haruka said.

"No, it's good. It's a happy memory at least." Usagi said giving Haruka a reassuring smile. It was good, at times, to think back on the happy times she had had with Shingo. It wasn't easy with him being gone. She doubted it ever would be.

* * *

The show had been going maybe 15 minutes when it happened. "Zoisite." Usagi hissed low enough that the other girls would hear her but not draw the attention of anyone else hopefully. He had seemed to have come out of nowhere and while she couldn't see what he was exactly doing considering he was a Dark Kingdom general she doubted whatever it was was a good thing.

"What is he doing here?" Haruka asked frowning. Nothing good certainly. Before the conversation could continue any further one of the show's main actors suddenly changed into a youma.

"I thought all the rainbow crystals were accounted for." Usagi said paling slightly. If there were more than seven this complicated things. So far people hadn't really started reacting to the newly transformed youma. Most seemed to think it was part of the show.

"I don't think he's a rainbow crystal carrier." Haruka pointed out frowning. "It looked like Zoisite was aiming for Naru and missed and hit the actor instead."

"We need to henshin. We can't do anything as it is and between Zoisite and the youma a lot of people are in danger." Michiru commented. As people started to catch on this wasn't all fun and games and began to take off for the exits. It looked like Masato was trying to at least keep Naru from getting hurt by Zoisite. But considering he was now a full civilian who knew how long he would be able to hold his own. Hotaru could possibly protect them since she was closer to the two at the moment but she also wasn't henshined and probably wouldn't have anywhere to get to henshin. So that left them.

* * *

Masato didn't think he reacted. Raising his right arm above him and getting in front of Naru he half expected Zoisite's attack to hit. Only for a second later to hear a clinking noise as the crystal came in contact with something solid. Blinking once then twice he saw the raised arm was now glowing and he could just make out a transparent shield that had been responsible apparently for the crystal missing its target. Masato couldn't help the small grin that formed. So he was finally getting his powers back then. Took long enough. Not turning to face her he talked to Naru quietly. "Get out of here. I'll cover for you."

"Masato…" Naru began with some hesitation.

"I'll be fine. The Senshi should be here momentarily. Get somewhere safe." Masato commanded. He wanted to see if he could do an energy blast like he had been capable of before leaving the Dark Kingdom. But that would mean dropping the shield. So he needed Naru out of harm's way.

"Be careful." Naru finally agreed after a moment. Before slipping into the rapidly moving crowd and disappearing from sight.

Masato debated for a moment returning an attack as another crystal clinked off the shield. But decided against it. He had a chance to talk to Zoisite for the first time since he had allowed Moon to heal him and he needed to know something. "Wake up Zoisite. We've been all led astray. Tell me, how much do you remember from before we came to work under Beryl?"

"I am perfectly awake." Zoisite snapped back. Not liking the confusion that was being caused by Masato's comment. "Unlike you who is making eyes at that girl."

Masato resisted the temptation to roll his eyes at that comment. He had seen the looks exchanged between Zoisite and Kunzite at times. It was the worst kept secret in the history of the Dark Kingdom. Zoisite was not one to talk about making eyes at people. "I forgot about it too Zoisite. Beryl is not our leader. Find the prince." Masato tried to reason with him. Though if he had no memories this might end up being a lost cause.

Zoisite's eyes narrowed and a look seemed to cross his face but it was gone as quick as it had come. "You know what? I don't have to listen to you. Youma take care of this nuisance and the senshi whenever they decide to show up." Before teleporting himself back to the Dark Kingdom.

It might not have been quite the response he was hoping but it was better than nothing. Zoisite had been unnerved by his comments. He may have been trying to play it off but the look Masato had seen cross Zoisite's face for the briefest moment when he had said that Beryl wasn't their true leader told him that he at least remembered something. It also confirmed his theory Zoisite and Kunzite had been starting to get their memories back before Kunzite had been shipped off to England to deal with Venus. This meant that he wasn't a complete lost cause and possibly neither was Kunzite. Now if he could just get Moon close enough to him at some point soon to maybe heal him…

* * *

"Saturn, you're in charge of protecting the civilians as they evacuate from friendly or non-friendly fire. Masato do you think you could give her a hand with that new shield of yours?" Moon asked turning to the former general as she looked on the scene of what felt like mass chaos. It had taken a bit for people to realize this wasn't part of the show. Even then some still seemed confused on the matter. There was still far too many people in the line of fire.

"Understood." Masato confirmed moving over to stand a short distance away from Saturn so the barriers were proving protection but not overlapping each other.

They had barely a minute to come up with a plan on how to deal with the youma when it happened. It started picking up benches and for the lack of better word tossing them in various directions. Sending them flying and a huge cloud of dust started up around where Saturn and Masato were. Which was apparently was in the direct line of the youma's assault Moon noted paling slightly.

Sailor Moon wasn't sure if even Masato's and Saturn's combined forcefield could have stood up to whatever that youma had just done. Saturn was getting more powerful but that attack hadn't been light and barriers could only take so much. Masato had just regained his abilities so it was hard to say how strong his own forcefield was. She could vaguely hear Uranus cursing as they waited for the dust to settle and get a better idea of the situation. As it did Moon's shoulders sagging in relief as the dust began to clear and she could see a now reddish glowing ball and Pluto at its forefront holding up what looked like the top part of her staff in the air. It was glowing so if she had to guess that was what was powering the forcefield. Well, this was new. Luna hadn't mentioned that anyone other then Saturn on the team could use defensive abilities. Maybe she hadn't been aware of it. Either way it was best not to complain about the new helpful ability.

"Not the time Uranus." Moon commented to the older girl who she could hear wondering where this new ability had come from. Looking at the strain on Pluto's face from holding up the ball of energy she briefly wondered if this was outside of her range of ability. Something to ask about later. They had bigger concerns on hand.

"Moon, can you heal this youma or do we need to wear him down?" Neptune asked deciding to turn their attention fully back to the problem at hand.

Moon concentrated on the youma for a brief moment trying to see the aura Luna had been attempting to train her on seeing. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten as much practice with the skill as her and Luna had anticipated. Going by Luna's instructions and what she was seeing she should be good to go. "I'm pretty sure I can heal him. I need an opening to do it, but I can." Moon noted. Line of sight problems when using the compact wasn't unusual but with just how crowded it was here the situation was unusually bad.

"We don't have time to wait for all of these people to evacuate." Neptune pointed out frowning slightly.

"We just need people to get out of the way of a direct line of attack right?" Uranus asked powering up a Spiral Buster and tossing it in the direction of the youma causing people to scatter and finally getting them a line of sight. Well, that hadn't been the ideal solution to get the problem solved but it had worked at least.

"Let's not do that again please." Moon pleaded with her. It may have worked but what would happen if someone hadn't been able to get away fast enough?

"Hey, it worked." Uranus pointed out.

"You still could have hurt someone with that." Moon pointed out. Though she guessed if something hadn't been done the other people would have been in more danger. Really though when she had told Saturn to protect from friendly and unfriendly fire this isn't exactly what she had been thinking. "Just please don't do that again in the future." Sure it had worked this time but what was to say it wouldn't end badly in the future if they tried that tactic again?

"Do you need an energy transfer?" Neptune asked cutting in before the conversation could go anywhere.

"I think I'm okay." Moon said after a moment. This wasn't as bad as the other youma so it shouldn't affect her that much she reasoned. But after the last few weeks who knew but she hated being a nuisance and asking for help. Something apparently the other two picked up on as she felt two separate hands wrap around her upper arm muttering a quiet thanks to them turning her full attention to the youma. "Moon Healing Escalation!" Moon commanded pointing the compact in the way of the youma who seemed to be distracted by something at the moment though she wasn't sure what. Letting out a sigh of relief as he fully reverted back to his human self falling down on the stage. Only to be rushed moments later by several people who either worked there. Well, he would be all right now at least and she wasn't too tired all things considered. Though now the headache was back again she noted rubbing her forehead.

"You all right?" Neptune asked.

"It's just aheadache." Moon assured them. She glanced down at the compact wondering for a moment, if she kept using it would it unlock her memories even without the Ginzishou fully formed? "Let's get out of here before people start asking questions."

* * *

Most of the group found themselves tired that after they had managed to get out of the show area and reunite with Naru it was decided to leave for the day. So they were headed back to the car park when Usagi asked the one question that had been bugging her, and probably the others. "Setsuna what was that you used earlier?"

"It's called the Garnet Ball. As for why you haven't seen it before. Yes, I can cast it but since I have so little practice with it my core can't sustain it for very long. Thus, why I layered it over Saturn's and Masato's shields." Sestuna explained shaking her head slightly. She got why they were annoyed or suspected it in some of the cases (Haruka definitely looked annoyed initially but it was starting to fade). It looked like she had been holding back on them. Garnet Ball took monumental effort to use and was often impractical. It was emergency only and she couldn't maintain it or guarantee she'd even have enough power to pour into it at any given time. It wasn't something to rely on. She was getting more powerful so with time she would be able to use it like Saturn's shield or Masato's. She had been taught back during the Silver Millennium in case she needed to go more on the defensive. Despite her many years at her post, in reality, Setsuna had very little training and wasn't used to using Garnet Ball at all. She would definitely be feeling the side effects tomorrow. But it had been for the best.

"Wait, what happens if we stress our magical cores too much?" Michiru asked frowning slightly. That hadn't been a topic Luna had brought up before. This was a concern, could what Usagi had been doing the past few weeks be classified as straining her core? And if so what did that mean for her?

"If we stress them to the point where they are almost completely drained? Magical coma at best, death at worse depending on just what we are doing." Setsuna explained. The last resort attacks were an example of the later. To power them one essentially drained their entire core so death was inevitable at that point. That caused Usagi to pale considerably. Seeing the look Setsuna continued. "It's fine Usagi. I wouldn't have used it if I thought it would stress my core that much." Well maybe. But she didn't need the younger girl worrying about that. Most likely no, the possible fallout if she fell without a replacement was rather large. The consequences of being the guardian of the Time Gates and all.

As Setsuna glanced back at Usagi she found herself a bit concerned. The fight against the Dark Kingdom's leaders was going to be coming sooner than later. Usagi eventually was going to have to face the fact that she couldn't protect her senshi as she wanted. They were soldiers, her soldiers, born and sworn to protect her. Not the other way around, though you'd never know it with how hard she tried to protect them instead. That was the consequence of being a Sailor Senshi. You gave up the safety and security of a normal life to protect the world. Usagi was going to have to eventually face the fact that they may face Death in order to save the Earth or even simply her, their princess. She just hoped that when the time came Usagi didn't pile more guilt on top of everything else. She would gladly lay down her life on behalf of her princess or to protect her and she did not desire for Usagi to blame herself if she ever fell doing so.

* * *

The group went their separate ways after that. Masato went to take Naru to the park with Hotaru sticking with them to chaperone while Setsuna got a call from the office saying there was an emergency with a client at the office and left as well.

As Michiru, Haruka, and Usagi walked into the apartment Michiru got a call. One of the galleries that hosted her paintings. "I need to handle this. Want me to pick up anything while I'm out?" Haruka shook her head. "Drive safe, need anyone to come with you?" Michiru shook her head and left Usagi and Haruka feet still halfway to taking off their shoes to slip on their slippers.

Michiru was gone for a while and Usagi was sitting in a chair watching the view outside the window. Haruka walked in. "Why do you push yourself?" Usagi blinked. "Wha...?" Haruka didn't look amused at her confusion as she came to stand next to the chair. "Why do you push healing when it could kill you?" Usagi blinked. Well... she hadn't really known it could until today's conversation with Setsuna. And even then it hadn't really sunk in until Haruka had asked her what she had been doing to herself. "I didn't know." Haruka stood rigid fist clenched.

Usagi stood and stepped towards the window noticing a cloud she likened to being a little to like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. She lifted her hand to point it out. "Haruka loo-"

She was interrupted by arms around her and shaking shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she froze. Soon she felt wetness on her shoulder where Haruka's face could be seen in the reflection of the glass. Her hand that had gone to point out the cloud was soon on Haruka's head in an attempt to sooth her. Haruka spoke, voice broken. "You can't heal anymore. No one, you hear me. No one."

Usagi's eyes widened. "I have to Haruka. That's my job and I can't stop."

Haruka's hand suddenly reached out and held the wrist connected with her hand and Usagi was pulled into a spin, now facing the tear-stained face of Haruka. "You need to accept help. All this time you've been killing yourself and none of us knew."

Usagi blinked confused. She wasn't dead. They were just headaches, maybe some extra hunger... maybe out for a couple days, that one bad cold... but no death. "I'm fine. Luna says with time I'll be able to do more, and I want to. What if you or Michiru or any of the others ever get hurt? I don't want to lose-"

She was interrupted with Haruka's lips catching her own. "Stop sacrificing yourself." Haruka spoke as she pulled her lips away, leaving Usagi with her heart thumping hard in her chest. 'Why did she...'

Usagi stood stunned and Haruka walked away leaving her standing there, legs weak. The door opened. "You alright Usagi? You look deep in thought." Michiru asked. "Do I sacrifice myself Michiru?" Michiru was quiet for a moment, her feet softly padding across the floor once she switched out her shoes for her slippers. "Does even the sea know its own nature I wonder." Usagi blinked and turned to Michiru. "Eh…?" Michiru sighed. "Yes, Usagi. You sacrifice yourself and you do not have to. We are here. Take from us. Moments of sacrifice come on their own without us creating them where they are not needed."

End Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week.
> 
> Before we continue into the preview here's a quick rundown of some of the terms used:
> 
> papakatsu: Basically the Japanese equivalent of a sugar daddy.
> 
> Burakumin (definition taken from Wiki): is an outcast group at the bottom of the Japanese social order that has historically been the victim of severe discrimination and ostracism. They were originally members of outcast communities in the Japanese fuedal era, composed of those with occupations considered impure or tainted by death (such as executioners, undertakers, workers in slaughterhouses, butchers or tanners), which have severe social stigmas of kegare (穢れ or "defilement") attached to them.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment.
> 
> Here's the preview for 25 that will go up on the 12th:
> 
> The talk of a school was some girl that was going around impersonating her as Sailor Moon saving random people. Why anyone would want to impersonate her was a good question, though that wasn't her biggest concern at the moment. The fact that her impersonator was taking care of more normal workplace things was. It wasn't so much that that she was grateful someone was stopping people from getting hurt. Far from it. The problem was she was a bit concerned that if they couldn't figure out who the impersonator was it might come back to bite her. She and the girls were already associated with dealing with the supernatural. She was worried that if this continued people would expect her to deal with things she didn't have the ability to sense or take care of.
> 
> "You might be over thinking it Usagi. I don't think people are going to start expecting these things from you overnight." Naru pointed out. They were back at the apartment she shared with Haruka and Michiru and Usagi was venting to her about the whole impersonator thing, "Besides what is it that you've mentioned Michiru's sister saying? No publicity is actually really bad publicity?"
> 
> "That's true I suppose. Sometimes I wonder how there is no such thing as bad publicity." Usagi said. Truth be told outside of making the anime they hadn't done much publicity. They had become kind of associated with taking care of weird problems. Like the Haneda incident. Luna and Michiru were still the ones who talked to the government the most, so she had no real clue how they were handling the situation. Though she had a feeling the government wasn't very happy about the rogue 'Sailor Moon' either.
> 
> And that's a wrap! See you on the 12th!


	25. Best Form of Flattery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Dang this month is flying by. It feels like just yesterday I was posting 24 for everyone to read.
> 
> Anyways please enjoy the chapter. And make sure to leave a review or a comment.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> On with the chapter!

Chapter 25

Best Form of Flattery  
  
Haruka's decision to kiss Usagi still confused Usagi a few days later. Teasing and flirting was something she was used to by this point from the older girl. The sparse memories she did have of Theia suggested something similar happening the few times her and Serenity had crossed paths. This…this was something else entirely. Something she wasn't sure how to handle.

Usagi didn't even understand why the girl had chosen to kiss her in the first place. Usagi didn't want to go down the possible thought path that there might be something more. No matter what her feelings were towards them they were already in their own relationship.

* * *

 

_"Welcome back, Princess." Venus and Mars were awaiting Serenity as she got off the transport. She had been spending the last few days on Mercury checking on their status and getting a medical checkup to find out why she had been ill lately. "How was the trip?"_

_"It was a long trip and I really want to rest." Serenity said as they started heading into the castle. She wanted to just go sleep for a few hours in her bed. Before Endymion was due back from Earth._

_"You really shouldn't have traveled to_ Mercury. _" Venus muttered under her breath in complaint. She understood the best doctors were on Mercury and they needed someone to check over Serenity, but they could have come to the Moon rather than there princess go all that way while ill._

_"I needed to get away from the castle. Mother's been rather... difficult. More so than usual." Serenity said softly, clearly wishing her mother would stop. She would have thought with the upcoming peace treaty her mother would have been too busy to pay attention to her. Instead, it seemed like she had become more interested in her personal life than normal._

_"No new leads about why you've been feeling ill?" Mars asked coming up to her right-hand side._

_Serenity sighed and shook her head answering. "All of the tests came back the way they should be." Serenity said sounding a bit exasperated at her situation. She had been getting ill on and off for a while now. Not long before she and Endymion had gone through with the ceremony to be precise._

_"Do you think it has something to do with the bond?" Mars asked shooting Venus a questioning glance. If any of them had the best chance of knowing if this was a side effect from the new bond…_

_"No, this has been going on since before the ceremony." Serenity answered for her before Venus could add her two cents._

_"You didn't mention that before." Venus pointed out accusingly turning her attention away from Mars and back to the princess. She was the leader of the Inner Senshi, these were the kind of things that shouldn't be kept from her if she was going to be able to actually do her job._

_"I didn't bring it up because it only started getting noticeable after the ceremony." Serenity said. "The doctors know just how long it's been going on."_

_"That's great they know, but Princess, I can't do my job or help the others do theirs, properly if you hide_ _things_. _" Venus said sounding a bit exasperated._

Usagi was brought out of it by her alarm clock going off. Hitting the 'OFF' button sitting up for a moment some confusion racking her. That had been an interesting dream.

Nothing really new other than maybe getting an insight into everyone else's personalities. There was one thing that stood out to her though. The illness. She needed to look it up another time when she wasn't busy, but she had a feeling based around the conversation on just what had caused her past self to be ill.

* * *

 

The talk of a school was some girl that was going around impersonating her as Sailor Moon saving random people. Why anyone would want to impersonate her was a good question, though that wasn't her biggest concern at the moment. The fact that her impersonator was taking care of more normal workplace things was. It wasn't so much that she was grateful someone was stopping people from getting hurt. Far from it. The problem was she was a bit concerned that if they couldn't figure out who the impersonator was it might come back to bite her. She and the girls were already associated with dealing with the supernatural. She was worried that if this continued people would expect her to deal with things she didn't have the ability to sense or take care of.

"You might be over thinking it Usagi. I don't think people are going to start expecting these things from you overnight." Naru pointed out. They were back at the apartment she shared with Haruka and Michiru and Usagi was venting to her about the whole impersonator thing, "Besides what is it that you've mentioned Michiru's sister saying? No publicity is actually really bad publicity?"

"That's true I suppose. Sometimes I wonder how there is no such thing as bad publicity." Usagi said. Truth be told outside of making the anime they hadn't done much publicity. They had become kind of associated with taking care of weird problems. Like the Haneda incident. Luna and Michiru were still the ones who talked to the government the most, so she had no real clue how they were handling the situation. Though she had a feeling the government wasn't very happy about the rogue 'Sailor Moon' either.

"I think it means you make the best out of any situation, but I've never put too much thought into it." Naru said shrugging slightly. Before now there was no real reason to try to understand that odd saying. "So, who do you think it actually is?" Naru asked frowning.

"I think it can only be the Dark Kingdom. Though... saving people seems to go against everything they do. I don't know." Usagi said frowning. It seemed like an odd Dark Kingdom plot. Then again, the Dark Kingdom did have some interesting decision-making skills, like putting a target on themselves in the public's eye by having some very public plots. Dreamland anyone?

"Does Tuxedo Kamen have any of the rainbow crystals maybe they're trying to get his attention?" Naru asked out of curiosity.

"I know he has one. The one from the graveyard. I think the rest are in the possession of either us or the Dark Kingdom, but I could be wrong about that." Usagi admitted frowning slightly thinking back. A lot of times she hadn't gotten close enough to the scuffles with Zoisite when it came to trying to get the rainbow crystals. Her attention had been elsewhere. So, while she knew that they had three of them and Zoisite had a couple of them. She wasn't sure how many Tuxedo Kamen had. It was definitely possible he had more than one crystal.

"Why is he holding onto one anyway? I thought he was on your side. You would be the only one that could use them so what's the point?" Naru asked a bit confused by the situation.

"I don't know." Usagi said scratching her head after a moment. It did seem a bit odd when you started thinking about it. "The fact that I'm technically the only one that should be able to use the Ginzishou doesn't seem to be stopping the Dark Kingdom from going after it."

"True." Naru agreed making a face.

"Luna said I should be the only be able to use it. Who knows how accurate that is with everything else." Usagi said after a moment. There was a key piece of the puzzle they were missing here she felt but unfortunately between Luna's trust issues with her own memories and the holes that existed it was hard to say what exactly was missing.

* * *

 

"Ms. Haruna?" Usagi asked finding it difficult to avoid staring as she spotted the familiar red-haired woman on the way back to class after lunch. This was unexpected. Yeah, she and Naru had talked about tracking down the one teacher that had helped her when she was back at Juuban, but they hadn't really gotten around to it yet. Neither of them had realized that their old teacher might be hanging around their new school.

"Ms. Tsukino." Ms. Haruna greeted giving her a genuine smile. "I didn't know you had started here." The last time she had seen the blonde had been shortly after the incident with the boys before she had been made to leave Juuban. She didn't know what had happened between then and here but her former student looked noticeably happier and almost healthier. Obviously whatever changes that had happened to lead her here had been mostly good.

"I transferred in at the start of the new school year." Usagi said. "What about you? Are you starting to teach her?" She hadn't seen Ms. Haruna around here before though admittedly she really hadn't done much in the way of exploring.

"I've been teaching here for several months now Ms. Tsukino. I'm in charge of one of the seventh-grade classes." Ms. Haruna explained. She had bounced around a bit after leaving Juuban but had decided rather quickly she didn't want to remain in the public school system where it felt like the administration was a bit to pliable. Private schools wouldn't be perfect, but she felt it was the better of the two options. Especially after all she had seen at Juuban. So she had applied for a spot at Mugen Gaken.

"Sorry." Usagi said flushing a bright red. "I haven't really explored the other levels that much yet."

"It's all right. You're not expected to know everything about this school. Especially with its unique layout." Ms. Haruna said giving her a gentle smile. The grade levels being on different floors meant interacting between the grades was a bit difficult at times. So it wasn't a shock that Usagi was just now discovering her job here.

"I wish I could have done more for you three." Ms. Haruna said after a quiet moment. It had always felt like her greatest failure that she hadn't been able to do anything about the group that had followed Yuki around. To stop the incident from happening, Umino getting hurt, Usagi getting assaulted. Just something to have made the teenager's school lives more bearable. The school administration had made it near impossible for her to do much beyond the little things she had been able to step in and do.

"You did more than most." Usagi said quietly. It was the truth Ms. Haruna had been one of the few people in the school that had stood up for her, Naru, and Umino during her tenure there. "Thank you very much for what you did Ms. Haruna." Usagi bowed to her from the bottom of her heart. Ms. Haruna hadn't stopped Yuki, but she had tried and that was what mattered.

* * *

 

_It was a rare memory from later in her and Michiru's lives, from the ball that had announced Serenity and Endymion's engagement. The reason why it stuck out? For some reason, she knew it was one of the few times she or Michiru's past selves had been called to the Moon Kingdom for any sort of event. Looking at Serenity the resemblance between her and Usagi was strong no matter how much Luna refused to admit to it. She had a distinct feeling though that Luna wouldn't acknowledge it until she absolutely had to._

_Sailor Uranus had pulled Serenity away from the prince to have a dance and a chance to talk without drawing too much attention. "You know you're going to have to tell her, eventually right?" Her past self, Theia, asked Serenity. What her past self was referencing wasn't clear to Haruka but judging by the look that crossed the other girl's face she clearly knew what she was referencing._

_"I know." Serenity acknowledged with clear reluctance. "I just hope I can get through the next few centuries until I'm old enough to be Queen without her finding out. That might be an issue since I think she's expecting an heir sooner than later."_

_"Maybe you should be spending more time on the outposts with us then." She teased slightly. Though it was just as much a suggestion as a tease._

_That caused Serenity to flush a bright red at the suggestion. Letting out a clearly reluctant sigh she spoke again. "It's not that I don't want to, as you both know. It's just I don't know if I will be able to. Mother's been keeping a closer eye on me lately. There's a reason why I've asked Persephone to bring you two to me and not the other way around."_

_"I hate we have to hide this because your mother is so set on her ways." Theia complained keeping her tone down. Any other family they could be open around. But none of them trusted the Queen to not react in a manner that would end up coming back to haunt them. So, until Serenity was old enough and powerful enough they had to keep it a secret._

_"I do too." Serenity confided after a moment. "Things would be so much easier if mother wasn't so set on certain things…"_

_"It will work out Kitten." Theia said with more confidence then she honestly felt. Though it had to work for all of their sakes. The Queen had to continue to believe the lie she had been indirectly told all this time._

_"I hope your right." Serenity said pulling back with clear reluctance. "I better get back to the others before I start drawing questions."_

Haruka shot up in bed a moment later. Her brow creased with confusion and her thoughts going in circles. The new memory, one of the few they had of Serenity and the Moon Palace at the moment suggested something entirely different than what they had thought. The lack of memories of Serenity had led them to partly assume that they didn't know or weren't close to the Lunar Royal Family. This would indicate the opposite. Ultimately, she decided to get up and go out for a run, hoping the activity might clear her head, and sort out the confusion that had started from the new memory.

Her thoughts drifted back to the memory as she got dressed. Flirting while other girls had been something she had done to a lesser extent during the Silver Alliance had been something she had done on occasion. This sounded like it was more than some of the usual flirting she had done in the past. She had been involved with Michiru's past self-back then too, but the way Serenity had been openly talking about them sneaking off to visit her in the Moon Palace sounded like there was at least a fling if not more going on. It didn't seem like just a fling, but she didn't have enough memories to truly know. Why did none of them remember it before now?

* * *

 

For a while, they had just left the Sailor Moon impersonator alone. She wasn't really doing anything bad, so it seemed best to just let her be for the moment. Looking back though they should have expected someone from the government to show up and start asking questions. It still had been kind of a surprise when Usagi had answered the door to a woman dressed in a business suit. "Um, can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Michiru. Who are you?" The woman asked eyeing her up with a frown.

"Mamiko what brings you here." Michiru asked coming up behind her. Well, that answered the question of who the woman was. This was Michiru's older sister then. She hadn't actually met the other woman before. While it had been troublesome Michiru had been able to convince her that they were the Sailor Senshi without the entire group being involved. Now that she was looking closer she could see the family resemblance. Mamiko didn't have Michiru's teal-colored hair, her color while still in the range of blue was much darker than her sister's and pulled back into a bun, though, they did have the same eyes.

"I need to discuss with you a private matter concerning one of your hobbies." Was Mamiko's cryptic answer. Usagi frowned slightly at that. Odd preamble though that made her wonder if what she wanted to talk to Michiru was less of a hobby and more of their side job.

"Everyone here is either a Sailor Senshi or aware of who we are Mamiko." Michiru pointed out.

Mamiko's eyebrows furrowed for a moment as she glanced back at Usagi and then seemed to realize something. "You're Sailor Moon."

"Correct." Usagi confirmed.

"Well, that makes things simple. You're the one I actually needed to talk to. I didn't realize the three of you were sharing a place though." Mamiko admitted looking around with a frown.

"Usagi recently transferred to Mugen Gaken. Since we all work together, and she has a tendency to attract trouble it seemed to be in everyone's best interest to just have her move in with us. Since I'm the one paying for the apartment with my work I didn't feel the need to inform the rest of the family about the change in arrangements." Michiru explained.

"Sure, it wasn't for you three to get up to some sort of extracurricular activities?" Mamiko grumbled quietly under her breath. Though that didn't stop Michiru from overhearing. "Mamiko." Michiru warned.

"I know, I know, I'm dropping it for now. I'm here about that girl that's been running around saving various people from workplace accidents. We know that she is just going around calling herself Sailor Moon but having seen photos of her and now having seen you in person I can see you two aren't the same person." Mamiko said as Usagi frowned. Had that been a jab at her? Mamiko seemed to be the passive-aggressive type judging by the earlier comment so it could very well be. Best to leave it be for now though. "So we are wondering if you know who this 'Sailor Moon' actually is."

"No. All we really know is that she's some sort of impostor. We know about as much about her as you probably do." Usagi confessed.

"The prevailing theory is that she might belong to the Dark Kingdom trying to use Usagi's image to manipulate the public into a less favorable view." Michiru explained. "However considering she keeps saving people that seems counterproductive."

"You don't think it's an actual new Senshi though?" Mamiko asked.

"No. First of all, she wouldn't be going around claiming she was Sailor Moon. Second of all Luna says the one time she was able to get close enough to her all she could sense was Terran energy. Strong Terran energy but Terran none the less. If she were a fellow senshi she would be giving off an energy signature equivalent to where she draws her powers from." Michiru explained.

"There's no Sailor Earth?" Mamiko questioned.

"No. The last possible candidate during the time that the senshi were still prevalent was born male. Senshi are always female. His reincarnation might eventually develop powers of his own but until the next generation of that line is born there is no possibility for a Sailor Earth." Luna said finally coming up and explaining. "Luna. I'm the girl's adviser on all things Senshi related."

"Wait aren't you-" Mamiko began frowning in confusion.

"When I go out in public with the girls to certain governmental meetings I use a more humanoid form to draw less attention. I would rather you keep this quiet." Luna requested. She had put some things on the line by not shifting. If Mamiko was anything like her sister, it would be safe for her to know.

"Of course." Mamiko said not really thinking, at this point, about who she was speaking to. It had all become a bit too much for her. Deciding to get back on track of the subject of the impostor. "So why haven't you confronted this impostor yet?"

"She has really bad timing for us." Usagi muttered.

"We are hoping to soon. This weekend we had planned to do so." Michiru elaborated. "She's more of a nuisance than a threat Mamiko. If the government's really that concerned about it then make an announcement."

* * *

 

"Is she always like that?" Usagi asked after Mamiko had left. She knew both of the older girl's family relationships left something to be desired. From what little she could glean of them anyway. Mamiko's attitude during the early part of the conversation had seemed a bit over the top especially for someone that was supposed to be family.

Michiru sighed. "She's always been a tad bit passive aggressive. She didn't take it well when we came out to our families."

"Sorry." Usagi said making a face. Maybe it would have been better for her not to have been there at all. Then again Mamiko had been looking for her, not the others.

Michiru shook her head with a resigned look. "I accepted my family's opinion on my relationship with Haruka a long time ago." Would she like to have a better relationship with her family outside of Misako? Yes. She simply wasn't about to live a life of lies, incomplete and unhappy to do so.

* * *

 

Zoisite was not having a good week. First, he was still questioning what in the world Nephrite had meant when they had that exchange they had. Beryl had decided she wanted to get more hands on with the latest plot to collect the rainbow crystals. He had balked at the suggestion, he hated the idea. But what the Queen of the Dark Kingdom wanted and apparently she wanted him to run around in a Sailor Senshi uniform with another youma tagging along with him to make sure it went according to plan there was no real easy way out of it.

This had been entirely Beryl's idea. After this, he was less inclined to take advice from Beryl on how to run a youma plot regardless of her being his boss. He got there was a point to this but did he really have to dress up in drag to get the rainbow crystals?

He blamed most of his current situation on Beryl's suddenly developing interest in Tuxedo Kamen. He had no clue when she had gotten a good look at his face or how she had but suddenly Beryl had gone from viewing him as a hostile to ordering to have him captured. When he had tried to ask she had snapped something about the possession of the rainbow crystals. This made even less sense when you thought about the order to capture him alive. He wasn't even sure who had more rainbow crystals, the Sailor Senshi or this Tuxedo Kamen and there was no guarantee either could be used to leverage the other. He didn't understand this plan. Yet Beryl was in one of her 'moods' and so here he was... too chicken to refuse to dress as a girl and so trapped in this humiliating situation.

To top it all off he still found himself slightly unnerved. Why couldn't he stop thinking about the comments Nephrite had made when he had run into him at Dreamland? When he had managed to sneak in a conversation with Kunzite afterward he had seemed just as lost as he was as to what Nephrite was referencing. This was like when Venus had first shown up all over again. And if there was one thing Zoisite didn't like it was being confused. Well now, he could tack a second thing to the things he most loathed... being confused and being forced to cross-dress.

* * *

 

"Compile a file against Yuki and the others?" Usagi asked Setsuna skeptically at the next appointment. In light of continued run-ins with Yuki Setsuna had decided to suggest compiling a file of everything that had gone down at Juuban concerning her and that other group. "I don't know Setsuna I just want to forget all of that ever happened."

"I know you don't like the idea of it but if something were to happen again with you and Yuki…" Setsuna trailed off there hoping Usagi would catch on to what she was saying.

"Having evidence that this has been an ongoing problem would be a good thing." Usagi realized where Setsuna was going with it. She hated to admit it but Setsuna was right. The more evidence the better especially if someone tried to pull something like the incident with the boys or the fall before the winter holidays. She was pretty sure at the moment she wouldn't ever want to press charges against anyone involved in the whole time they had made her life hell at Juuban. She closed her eyes for a moment thinking. "Fine, you can compile it. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable pressing charges unless I have to but I'm not going to deny it's a good idea."

Setsuna relaxed slightly glad she was able to convince Usagi this was a thing that needed to be done. "I'm not expecting you to. It's just a precautionary measure in case they try to go after you." As it was most timelines were inconsistent on how Usagi went forward with the file. Sometimes she never touched the case file other times she did reach her breaking point. It pretty much relied entirely on how much she ran into Yuki and her group and their subsequent reactions to being around each other. Even Setsuna, however, did not know exactly how this would play out.

"I realize that. Before you get too far into it there's something you need to know." Usagi said making her decision about a certain subject matter. She didn't want to tell anyone more details about the incident with the boys. If Setsuna was compiling a case about this then she had no choice. She needed to tell her. It was probably only a matter of time before she found out just how much her and Naru had downplayed the incident.

* * *

 

"I know you didn't want to tell me about this, but I am glad you did." Setsuna said after a moment as the session finally ended. She understood the Usagi's hesitation. It was obvious she still had difficulties with what had happened even now closing in on almost a year since it had happened. Talking about this had reopened old wounds for Usagi but she was glad to know it had happened. Glad to know, and within her horror that it had happened was anger and a mantra that she could not erase them from existence without possibly destroying the universe and Usagi with it.

Personally, the whole thing horrified her. She wasn't sure which part horrified her more. That it had happened or the fact that Usagi had been forced to relive it for several months because the worst of her classmates had liked to make her rewatch the video that had been recorded of the entire incident. The realization that it had happened wasn't the most shocking.

Her and the others had had suspicions from the day she had first told them about the incident that she might be not telling them the whole truth about what had happened. The consensus had been to let her tell them when she was ready. It hadn't been the biggest shock to find out that there was more to that story then what Usagi had revealed at the time. That didn't make it any less horrifying.

If it wasn't for the fact that Usagi had to be the one to decide to press charges she would probably already be making the necessary steps to do so against the appropriate parties. Though with Japan's track record with such cases who knew if it would go anywhere even with proof. 'I must not erase people from existence.' She continued to herself.

If it wasn't for the fact she didn't have control over where Ami and Makoto attended school, she would already be moving to get them out of Juuban on today's revelations alone. She saw Ami at a weekly chess club meeting that she attended mainly to keep a close eye on her. As the Yuki situation became apparent on how bad it was maybe she could start subtly dropping some hints and flyers about Mugen. Ami would fit in well at Mugen and she just might need a push to leave Juuban. The problem was finding that push.

Makoto would probably prove to be the more difficult case. Her leaving Juuban might be a simple matter of knowing some of the extent of what Yuki had been responsible for but that might result in her going after Yuki and getting herself expelled again. Makoto didn't need that however much Yuki would more than deserve whatever Makoto did.

"Thanks for not pushing to tell you all the details." Usagi said giving a sad smile. She hated talking about it but Setsuna had let her get by with what was really the bare bones of the incident. Just the necessary details, not everything that had happened. Just that the incident had happened and that there was a video recording, that was supposed to be deleted, and to be on the lookout for it in case they hadn't followed the order.

Setsuna shook her head. "I didn't need to know everything to know it existed. Just that it was out there and what it contained. If you ever do want to share the entire incident though…"

"I know I can tell you." Usagi gave a sad smile. She wasn't sure if there was ever a day she would feel comfortable telling the whole story of that horrible afternoon. Having someone to talk to about it to if ever she did was nice.

"I should get home before the other two get really worried about me coming home so late." Usagi said after some silence had passed between the two. Hopefully, Haruka and Michiru wouldn't be too overly concerned about this. She wasn't in the mood to explain why the appointment had gone on longer than normal. That would mean talking about the dreaded subject that had caused it to go on in the first place. She wasn't ready to tell them about this. Really, she hadn't been ready to tell Setsuna either. With her opening the case it would probably have simply been a matter of time before she found out. "Sorry if I kept you from another patient."

"It's fine. You're my last patient of the day so you weren't intruding into anyone else's time." Setsuna assured her. This was precisely why Usagi was scheduled as the last patient she saw in the day. In case she needed more time with Usagi she wanted to make sure she was able to give it to her. In light of what she had just been told she was glad she had made the decision, early on, to schedule Usagi in that way.

* * *

 

Over the next few days, the impostor started to be involved in more risky events. Before now it was seemingly random stuns, mostly workplace events. It was escalating to the point where no one could really ignore it. With a foiled bank robbery topping the list. It was becoming obvious that the whole thing couldn't be allowed to drag on. Thankfully it wasn't much longer until the impostor senshi appeared on their schedule when they were out and about in Mugen when it worked on their schedule.

"Look who finally showed up on our schedule." Haruka noted as they watched the impostor land in front of the office building safely putting down the two window cleaners.

"She looks nothing like me." Usagi muttered under her breath. The only thing close to her appearance was the hairstyle. All of the colors were completely off.

"Well, it's nice to know one aspect of the protection magic works." Luna noted. One of the more confusing aspects of the magic was that it made impossible for others to completely replicate a Sailor Senshi's uniform. Meaning that even though the impostor had probably tried to get as close as she could purple and blue was the best she could pull off to Usagi's red and blue.

"Wait so it's supposed to be like that?" Michiru asked a bit surprised.

"For someone who is trying to impersonate a Sailor Senshi? Yes." Luna confirmed. "The magic does more than just merely hide your secret identities."

"That is good to know." Michiru said. Now she was wondering just how many facets of the protective magic there were.

"We need to follow." Haruka noted as they watched the impostor take to the rooftops disappearing from view rather quickly.

"How? She's so fast." Hotaru asked after a moment.

Michiru frowned slightly looking in the direction the girl had gone. Considering the possible want for privacy and the speed she had been gong. "She might be headed to the Tokyo Port."

"Why there?" Usagi asked tilting her head slightly. Why in the world would someone want to confront anyone in a maze-like place that was the Tokyo Port?

"She must have a reason." Luna said frowning slightly. "We need to follow her but be careful. It could be a trap."

* * *

 

Looking back, they really should have seen this coming. It seemed painfully obvious that it had to have been a Dark Kingdom trap. At the time they were chasing down the impostor it hadn't occurred to her. As Moon found herself and the others in a dark energy bubble listening to Zoisite cackle she came to the conclusion that she should have stayed in bed today.

She was only giving Zoisite half an ear more trying not to feel overly panicked by the slowly shrinking bubble when she heard Zoisite make a comment about having them trapped and now he could use them as a bargaining chip to gain the remaining rainbow crystals. Moon bit her lip to keep her from saying anything. Zoisite was about half right with his statement. Yeah, he had the upper hand and yeah he had the means of which to get the remaining rainbow crystals. He was wrong about who had the majority of them. She kind of wondered where he got the idea that Tuxedo Kamen had the majority of the crystals. Either way, they had bigger things to deal with one of which was having Zoisite not figure out who had the majority of the rainbow crystals.

The dark bubble was shrinking, and Moon was trying hard not to panic. She wasn't doing so well. She didn't DO small spaces. She was trying hard, but she was having trouble breathing and she was beginning to deal with spinning surroundings and tunnel vision.

"Moon?" Neptune asked a bit concerned seeming to have picked up on how well she was handling the situation. Between Moon and Uranus, there were two senshi who were not handling this trap well.

I don't do tight spaces." Moon confessed under her breath after a moment closing her eyes for a brief second trying to shut out the walls closing in. Deep breaths. She reopened them with a gulp realizing that hadn't helped. Where was one of the others when you needed them? Luna had escaped and run off, so she really hoped she had been able to get help or she didn't know what would happen. She was trying very hard not to puke or get lost in the panic about now. It was anything but easy.

"Dimension Dance!" A familiar lilac ball slicing in front of Zoisite announced the arrival of Pluto almost if on cue. It didn't actually hit Zoisite but thankfully that was enough of a distraction to get him to drop the containment field and they quickly scattered in different directions. Zoisite glanced back between them and the newly arrived Pluto who was being trailed by Masato it looked like. She thought she saw Masato opening his mouth to possibly make a comment. But before anything could be said Zoisite teleported out. Whether back to the Dark Kingdom or somewhere else was a good question.

"Are you four all right?" Pluto asked coming up to them. Thankfully her and Masato hadn't been too far off when Luna had found them. They had run into each other having come into the port area to see what the impostor situation was about. Seemed all of them had ended up here somehow.

"Better now that we're out of that." Moon confessed. "You're hoping the more you get to talk to him the more you might get him to see something's not right?" Moon gathered after a moment turning to Masato hoping to avoid what had to be a coming lecture from Pluto.

"That's what I'm hoping. He's always been stubborn even back during the days of the Old Kingdom. What would normally be a difficult task, convincing him that he might be wrong, is made even more difficult by Beryl's influence." Masato said frowning slightly glancing back up at the spot Zoisite had previously occupied.

She felt kind of bad for Masato. He was essentially a one-man brigade now having to try and save his fellow generals from the Dark Kingdom. He was the only one that had concrete memories of the Old Kingdom. He was having to go on the faith that his fellow generals would listen to him on the subject. Which judging by Zoisite's reaction there might not be a ton to go around. "Too bad you can't get to Jadeite." Moon noted. If he could have gotten to him she might have been able to heal him in a similar manner, so Masato wouldn't have been going this so much alone.

"That would require access to the Dark Kingdom, which I gave up." Masato pointed out. Having Jadeite around might come in handy especially if they could get him to recall his proper memories. hey had no way to get to him.

"You don't happen to know exactly where the base is located do you?" Luna asked. She figured the answer to that was no or else he would have said something earlier but it was best to ask than to assume and be incorrect.

"I know its somewhere in the far north. Its exact location is a mystery to me and probably to most who resided in the Dark Kingdom." Masato confessed frowning slightly. He knew it was remote and it was way up north but other than that he didn't know much about the outside of it. "What was he doing here today?" This hadn't seemed like any normal youma plot…

"He seemed to be very interested in drawing out Tuxedo Kamen." Saturn explained.

Pluto raised an eyebrow at that. "You four walked into a trap?" She would have thought that Uranus and Neptune would have kept them out of one since they tended to be more cautious at times than their Inner counterparts, usually at least.

"Yeah…" Moon admitted with some guilt. "He seemed to be trying to lure out Tuxedo Kamen. Zoisite seemed to be under the wrong impression that Tuxedo Kamen had the majority of the rainbow crystals." Moon explained.

Pluto frowned slightly at that. That was an interesting choice and she wondered this whole incident had been something Beryl had concocted. It sounded like something she would have done back in the day. "Maybe it's time we actually talked to him instead of just randomly bumping into him." They could talk about walking into possible traps later the bigger concern lay with Tuxedo Kamen and the remaining rainbow crystals at the moment.

* * *

 

It took a couple hours to track down Tuxedo Kamen. Tokyo Port wasn't exactly on the small side. And there were a lot of buildings to search through. Thankfully Pluto was able to narrow down the search field so what might have taken all night only took maybe about 20 minutes. Of course, from the minute they arrived Tuxedo Kamen was on the defensive for some reason. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here about the rainbow crystal I know your holding." Pluto said pointedly. "We're not here to fight Tuxedo Kamen." Moon frowned at that noticing that Pluto almost seemed to accidentally call him by another name again. Glancing between the two she realized if anyone knew for sure who exactly Tuxedo Kamen was in relation to their past lives it was Pluto. But now wasn't the time for that conversation.

"Then what are you here for." Tuxedo Kamen asked frowning slightly from what Moon could tell under the mask.

If Pluto had been anyone else she may have facepalmed in frustration. As it was she found herself currently wishing he had more of his Silver Millennium memories. It probably wouldn't fix the situation, but it might make the situation a lot easier. Moon frowned slightly as she thought she heard Pluto saying something under her breath that sounded like 'stubborn royalty'. "Everything okay?"

"It's nothing Moon." Pluto reassured her. At least nothing that Moon could address that she knew of. "Has it ever occurred to you that the person you keep seeing in your dreams and the person we are seeking and trying to protect are the same person? That may be holding one of the rainbow crystals for yourself is not beneficial?"

That caused Tuxedo Kamen to look at her with a frown. "How do you even know about that?"

"Senshi of time and space." Uranus quipped with a slight grin recognizing where Pluto was probably going with this. Nice to have someone else faced with that phrase as an explanation for once.

"My domain gives me access to information most people wouldn't have." Pluto admitted. Well, that wasn't the only reason she was aware of the situation but that would have to be a conversation for another time. When everyone's memories were hopefully restored to their full.

"The girl from my dreams and the girl your seeking are the same?" Tuxedo Kamen asked seeming to be a bit shocked by that thought. At Pluto's nod in confirmation Tuxedo Kamen seemed to stop and think about it for a moment. "I need a day." It felt kind of silly to not have realized that he and the Senshi might have been seeking the same girl but here they were. "I don't carry them on me." That was true he thought it was safer to store somewhere most people wouldn't look for it. Particularly if he ran into Zoisite or his minions like he had today. "Where is a good place to meet?"

"Juuban Park?" Moon suggested. Sure, most of them here lived over near Mugen Gaken but considering most of her encounters with Tuxedo Kamen had been while she was still in Juuban. She suspected he lived closer to their then to where they were. Plus, they needed him to be cooperative and not having him travel should help.

Tuxedo Kamen seemed to consider that for a moment. "Sure, can't think of anywhere else to meet."

"Tomorrow evening at Juuban Park it is then." Pluto agreed.

* * *

 

_By this point, Usagi was used to having the memories of the Moon Kingdom come through in her dream as she stood there, incorporeal and watching. She had never dreamed of this before. The night of the fall._

_"Your former generals are the one leading the charge Endymion!" Venus hissed angrily in response to some unheard comment as they walked quickly through the hall to a destination Usagi was unsure of. Her attention more focused on a clearly angry Venus. Who was angry enough she wasn't in the mood to call him by his formal title. She wasn't going to be called out on making sure an enemy had slipped through the cracks. When the prince of Earth's guards was the one leading the invasion charge._

_"Venus, Endymion. Could we do this later?" Serenity pleaded. "There are more important things to deal with." Like finding a safe place to evacuate the people._

_"Of course, princess." Venus said backing off from Endymion. "Any luck gaining contact with anyone Mercury?" She said turning her attention to Mercury for the moment._

_Mercury shook her head after a moment closing her visor. "No one's responding on any of the frequencies. I'm afraid…" Mercury broke off there not entirely sure she wanted to finish the thought. Though the intention was clear. The Moon may be the only one left standing._

_"Then will have to contact the Kuiper Belt." Venus realized. Sedna was their best chance of getting Serenity to safety. Hopefully, nothing had happened to the other planets. Now was not the time to be worrying about time. Time to mourn anyone lost in this attempt at destroying their kingdom would have to come later._

_"That could take a while." Mercury noted in concern already working on trying to relay a message to the outer most bounds of the Kuiper Belt. "We're going to have to hope their teleporters are open and just go through."_

_"I don't want to go all the way to the Kuiper Belt." Serenity said more to herself than to her guardians. She had never been that far out. She had never been even to Pluto. Traveling past Pluto while pregnant was a scary prospect. Regardless of the reason._

_"We don't have a choice princess. It may be the last safe place within travel distance." Jupiter cut in shaking her head. She disliked the idea of sending her out that far but if no one else was responding to their hails…Then they might be too late to send her safely somewhere in the solar system._

_"You and the little ones are our only hope. If you die, there's nothing left for us. We need to get you off the planet. NOW." Venus said cutting off any argument Serenity was going to make about not going so far off world. She could see youma starting to appear at the end of the hallways. They were running out of time. They needed to act now. Turning to the prince she made her decision to put her faith in him even with tonight's events. "Prince, you remember how to get back to the teleporter room?"_

_"Of course." Endymion confirmed. He had walked that route enough times to have it memorized._

_"Then get the two of you there. We'll follow as soon as we take care of this problem." Venus said to him before turning to Serenity. Placing the tilt to a blade in her hands._

_"Venus." Serenity began protesting only to have it slightly shoved at her chest._

_"Take it. I have other weapons I can use to protect myself. You have nothing. At least this way there is something that will protect you if a youma slips by." Venus insisted. It was far from an ideal situation and Serenity was bound to have problems trying to wield it in her condition. But she would rather Serenity had something to protect herself then not._

_"What am I?" Endymion muttered under his breath. He could very well protect the two of them._

_"Don't give me that. I know you can protect her but its best she has something Now get out of here before it's too late." Venus said rolling her eyes slightly. Before turning her back on them and towards the encroaching youma. "We'll follow as soon as we can."_

Usagi shot up in bed gasping. That, that was unexpected. Running hand ran through her bangs she briefly realized there were tears in her eyes and an ache in her heart. Even her abdomen felt acutely empty now, an awareness she wasn't sure how to process. There had been a lot to process in the memory. It was possible the Moon may have been the last planet to fall in the Dark Kingdom's invasion. The words, the way Venus had talked about her and the "little ones" being their hope solidified her suspicions from a couple of days ago. Pregnant. Serenity had been pregnant. She wasn't going to sleep after this. Ice cream for breakfast? Yep. It was gonna be an ice cream for breakfast sort of day.

* * *

 

"You're up early." Haruka noted coming into the kitchen, toweling herself off from her early run. Haruka looked pointedly at the ice cream Usagi was shoveling her face with.

"Couldn't go back to sleep after the last dream I had." Usagi confessed stabbing her spoon into the carton. She had tried but all she could see was the memory and continually replaying it, wondering with a sense of dread what came after that. Somehow, she knew in her gut it was worse than bad.

"Shingo or the Moon Kingdom?" Haruka asked out of curiosity.

"Moon Kingdom." Usagi confirmed. "I keep getting more of those as we gather more of these crystals." She said holding up the chain that held the rainbow crystals.

"You've demolished the ice cream, so it must be bad. Was it like- "Haruka broke off there not entirely sure how to continue the question. How do you ask if someone keeps dreaming of other people's deaths?

"Like the time I dreamed of your deaths?" Usagi asked continuing at Haruka's nod. "No, not really. I dream of a lot of memories of the Moon Kingdom. Not all of it is death. Some of it is rather confusing or even simply beautiful. Nothing quite like yours and Michiru's deaths so far."

"That was a whole gallon of ice cream last night Kitten. What happened?" Haruka asked sounding a bit concerned. Usagi sounded a bit shaken by whatever she had remembered, and she didn't even seem to realize there was no more ice cream left in the carton at this point.

Usagi let out a breath giving a small smile. In spite of knowing how it must have ended. "I was pregnant. Twins apparently."

"I guess congrats are in order. Even if it's a bit late. Though…" Haruka trailed off there not entirely sure how to continue with her thought. Or if she should. More than likely the fate of her children hadn't been a pleasant one. Her stomach rolled for a moment as she realized with the recent implications there was a chance the twins also belonged to her and Michiru if that one memory was any indication on what their relationship with Serenity was and the implications there would be no children with the earth prince.

"Yeah, I know. I know how it had to have ended." Usagi confirmed voice slightly cracking at the sheer thought. It was bad enough to entertain the idea of how long Serenity's death might have gone. Factoring in the fact it had all gone on in the war. To add in the idea of a pair of innocents having a long-prolonged death…she shivered slightly at that.

"You all right?" Haruka asked after giving her a moment.

Usagi managed to force a smile in response. "As well as I can be when talking about the fall of the Moon Kingdom." And the fates of innocent victims.

End Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this week!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it. Again please remember to leave a review or a comment. I love reading all of them even if I don't always respond to them.
> 
> 26 will appropriately enough be up on October 26th. I swear that wasn't originally planned that way. It just kind of happened.
> 
> Anyways preview for next week:
> 
> Usagi had gone over to Juuban a few hours before she and the others were supposed to meet with Tuxedo Kamen. The others had been held up with some work so they were unable to join her until closer to the meeting time so she had wandered over to the arcade again. In hindsight, it was the run in with Mamoru where things began to fall apart.
> 
> Running into Mamoru outside of the Crown Arcade wasn't exactly uncommon since he lived in the area. Today was, apparently, anything but usual as this is where things split away from the norm for them. It hadn't been obvious at first. Usagi had realized he didn't seem to be really into their usual exchange today and he seemed to be carrying himself odd but she had figured it was nothing. It wasn't until she had absent minded given him a pat on the shoulder as she was starting to walk away and her hand had come back with blood that she had become alarmed though.
> 
> Usagi wasn't a doctor and certainly didn't have any medical expertise but that seems like a lot of blood to her, too much. She had a sinking feeling in her gut that he wasn't going to be seeing a doctor about this. "Luna's never going to let me hear the end of this." Usagi muttered to herself before fishing around in her bag for the Moon Compact walking in the direction she had seen Mamoru go. At least in this case she was trying to help someone who was supposed to be an ally if there suspicions about him being the Earth Prince were correct.
> 
> Maybe Usagi could pass of using the compact as something else entirely. It was really against her better judgment to do this, she had doubts that she could get away with it without having her secret identity revealed, and Usagi wasn't even sure it would work but she couldn't let someone walk away from her bleeding like that. Especially since it didn't look like he was heading to a hospital anytime soon. Jogging to catch up with him Usagi waved him down. "Mamoru do you have somewhere private we can go to talk?"
> 
> And that's all for now folks. Please remember to leave a review/comment on your way out and see ya on the 26th!


	26. Full Moon Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting a bit earlier today since I now have horse back riding on Friday afternoons. Which is a 3-4 hour affair. 
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or comment at the end. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 26

Full Moon Rising

Usagi felt down to her soul, like she was living on borrowed time. As the rainbow crystals and she remembered more and more of her past life, each memory was like a rope tightening around her neck. This was, in part, why she hadn’t minded the whole back and forth in trying to keep the rainbow crystals from Zoisite and the Dark Kingdom. The longer it took the longer she could wait on knowing for certain if she was Serenity. When it came down to it she wasn’t sure how she was going to cope with the idea that she might be the reincarnation of an ancient crown princess let alone the way it impacted her current life and who she was now. It felt like she was kneeling over the executioner’s block awaiting that final moment when everything she knew would disappear from her grasp. The weight of her past life already weighed on her. How much more a weight when adding the lives and people of entire planets. Not even just kingdoms! Entire planets! She couldn't help but wonder how anyone could think her shoulders could carry so many lives and so many deaths upon them.

* * *

 Usagi had gone over to Juuban a few hours before she and the others were supposed to meet with Tuxedo Kamen. The others had been held up with some work so they were unable to join her until closer to the meeting time so she had wandered over to the arcade again. In hindsight, it was the run in with Mamoru where things began to fall apart.

Running into Mamoru outside of the Crown Arcade wasn’t exactly uncommon since he lived in the area. Today was, apparently, anything but usual as this is where things split away from the norm for them. It hadn’t been obvious at first. Usagi had realized he didn’t seem to be really into their usual exchange today and he seemed to be carrying himself odd, but she had figured it was nothing. It wasn’t until she had absent minded given him a pat on the shoulder as she was starting to walk away and her hand had come back with blood that she had become alarmed though.

Usagi wasn’t a doctor and certainly didn’t have any medical expertise but that seems like a lot of blood to her, too much. She had a sinking feeling in her gut that he wasn’t going to be seeing a doctor about this. “Luna’s never going to let me hear the end of this.” Usagi muttered to herself before fishing around in her bag for the Moon Compact walking in the direction she had seen Mamoru go. At least, in this case, she was trying to help someone who was supposed to be an ally if their suspicions about him being the Earth Prince were correct.

Maybe Usagi could pass of using the compact as something else entirely. It was really against her better judgment to do this, she had doubts that she could get away with it without having her secret identity revealed, and Usagi wasn't even sure it would work but she couldn’t let someone walk away from her bleeding like that. Especially since it didn’t look like he was heading to a hospital anytime soon. Jogging to catch up with him Usagi waved him down. “Mamoru do you have somewhere private we can go to talk?”

“Sure-” Mamoru began before spotting what was in her hand muttering. “Sailor Moon’s compact.”

“How do you-” Usagi cut herself off tilting her head for a moment. Her encounters with Tuxedo Kamen had been limited but if you looked at Mamoru a certain way and started thinking about it. “Tuxedo Kamen?” If that was true that was kind of impressive. As far as she knew Tuxedo Kamen had only been close enough to see the compact one time, at the Tokyo Port when she had been playing around with it again. So for him to recognize it after that was a feat of itself.

“The one and only. It is a pleasure Sailor Moon.” Mamoru stated. Looking at Usagi it seemed silly to not have realized it beforehand. If nothing else the hairstyle should have given it away, yet he was only now realizing it.

“Yes.” Usagi confirmed. Well, Luna couldn’t get too mad at her for helping an ally. She hoped at least anyway.

“I thought that compact’s healing ability was limited to brainwashed people and humans turned youma?” Mamoru noted frowning slightly. Not that he was opposed to trying. 

“Well that’s all I’ve done with it but Luna never specified what the compact can’t do. So, I figure it’s worth a shot at least. I might get yelled at because using it can be exhausting.” Usagi muttered to herself rubbing her head. She had doubts that she would be in a ton of trouble for helping an ally.

“Well, it probably can’t make the situation worse.” Mamoru agreed with some reluctance. He would normally haven’t gone with the suggestion. But it was a rather nasty injury. Even with his own improved healing proving difficult to heal. He had a suspicious feeling that Zoisite had something to do with that. “Do you feel comfortable coming back to my apartment?” Mamoru asked after a moment. He couldn’t really think of anywhere private for Usagi to try this, however awkward this might prove to be.

“It's probably better than going to my place. Haruka and Michiru don't like when I use the compact.” Usagi agreed making a face. She wouldn't be surprised if they had her followed after this. Actually... it might be in her best interests if they never found out at all.

“Uranus and Neptune?” Mamoru asked. Now seeing the resemblance between the other two and their Senshi counterparts. The only ones he couldn’t figure out were Pluto and Saturn. Though maybe he had never met their civilian counterparts.

Usagi nodded her head. “I moved in with them when I started Mugen Gaken. Only other place I could think of is maybe my friend Naru’s.” Though if Masato was over at Naru’s then he might start pestering Mamoru and she doubted that was something Mamoru wanted currently. “But then again her boyfriend might be over at the house…” Which could be a good or a bad thing depending on how Masato reacted. However, she didn’t think introducing the idea of Mamoru being a former prince tonight was a good idea on top of everything else that was now going on.

“Its best to keep the least amount of people involved I think so my place it is.” Mamoru agreed with a sigh.

* * *

 “Why didn’t you say anything about being injured at the Port? I could have healed you there.” Usagi asked once they were back at the apartment. She assumed he was injured at the time. Then again if it had been brought up then an argument would have started up over using the compact.

Mamoru cringed at that. “I didn’t realize the severity of the injury at the time. I only was out earlier because I needed to grab some supplies to deal with all of this before we’re supposed to meet at the park tonight.”

“Makes sense.” Usagi agreed.

“I normally heal quickly but this doesn't seem to be.” Mamoru explained.

“We’re similar in that regard. I may have taken a hit for Uranus once. Knocked myself out in the process. Was sore the next morning but everything else had pretty much taken care of itself” Usagi confessed. Other times meant venturing into Yuki territory. And while Mamoru wasn’t a complete stranger and she had mentioned Yuki in passing before. This would mean diving in on a whole new level.

“For some reason, I can’t imagine her being the happiest with that decision.” Mamoru noted frowning slightly. Considering what he had seen of the other girls’ protective streak.

“She wasn’t but after losing Shingo I refuse to lose anyone else.” Usagi explained. “I still wonder what made the difference between me living and my little brother dying?”

“Your powers?” Mamoru suggested. “I’m not entirely sure if it helps but I do understand the question. It was a question I’ve asked myself before especially when I was younger. How did I survive my parent’s car accident? A car falling off a cliff? Most people die.” Dealing with the guilt of having survived where his parents had died had gotten easier over the years. But there were still days where it was noticeably difficult at times. Especially near the anniversary.

Mamoru unlocked the door to his apartment and they entered before the conversation picked up right where it left off. “I guess.” Usagi agreed with some reluctance. “Anyways back to what I’m actually here for. Healing that injury of yours.”

“Do you need me to do anything in particular?” Mamoru asked.

“Stand still and umm... maybe take the shirt off so I can see what I’m doing.” Usagi's face turned red as she was keenly embarrassed at this situation. Plus, she felt bad the injury looked like it was around the shoulder so taking the shirt off couldn’t exactly be painless.

“Your probably right.” Mamoru agreed making a face. Due to its location, this was going to hurt quite a bit. But if it helped with the healing he could bite his tongue for now.

Usagi winced in sympathy as she got the first clear look of the injury. That looked pretty painful. She wondered briefly if it had been caused by one of Zoisite’s ice crystals. Something to ponder for another time (and maybe to store away as a reminder to be careful around Zoisite). “Moon Healing Escalation!” she commanded opening the compact up.

Usagi was able to hold it for a few solid minutes before it started to get to her and she canceled the spell. Well the injury wasn’t completely healed but it did look a lot better then it had when they had first got here. “Sorry. I'm not very strong without the others.” Usagi apologized. She had pulled back once the headache had started up again. For the moment that seemed like a good measuring stick. And the injury did look much improved even if it wasn’t entirely gone. On a side note, she now knew it not only worked on injuries but could be used when not transformed into her alter ego of Sailor Moon.

“Thank you. This is much improved from what it was.” Mamoru said moving the arm around a little where the injury was to get a better feel for how much it had improved. It still hurt but it had stopped bleeding at least and probably would be back to normal in a couple of days at the latest. “You going to be all right.”

“Yeah just have a bit of a headache. Which is pretty normal for me at this point.” Usagi admitted making a face. “Luna thinks its a sign that my dormant memories are going to return soon.” She added when she saw Mamoru’s questioning look.

“I’ve got some non-prescription painkillers in the medicine cabinet if you need something.” Mamoru offered.

“I think I’ll take you up on that.” Usagi agreed making a face. Today’s seemed worse than normal. Maybe stress related?

She stepped into the bathroom Mamoru had pointed her in the direction of. Washing up briefly and grabbing the pills as she heard the TV flicker to life back in the bedroom. At first, she had thought Mamoru had put it on as background noise until she heard Zoisite’s distinct tones start speaking. Usagi frowned, how did Zoisite know how to contact Mamoru about the rainbow crystals? Hand going to the chain that had them on it. She always carried the crystals on her. She felt weird when they were too far away. It was just her luck that Zoisite was apparently trying to challenge Mamoru for the remaining crystals when she was here. Maybe it was for the best though. “What was that about?” Usagi asked walking back into the living room.

“Zoisite decided to challenge me to a fight for the remaining rainbow crystals.” Mamoru explained.

“Why you?” She would have thought that they would have been Zoisite’s first priority since he had the lower amount of crystals. The only real attention getter besides his alter ego was if Mamoru was Endymion. As far as they could tell Zoisite’s memories weren’t that intact to be able to make that distinction. “It's just a bit weird. When did he find out your secret identity anyway?” Usagi asked frowning slightly.

“I’m not sure maybe he connected me with my Tuxedo Kamen guise last night when he knocked off my mask.” Mamoru answered frowning slightly. “I don’t think he knew of it beforehand at least. There are only two rainbow crystals here thankfully.”

“About that.” Usagi said lifting the chain that she carried her broach and the rainbow crystals on.

“You carry them on you?” Mamoru said raising an eyebrow in surprise and kind of in exasperation. Of all the bad luck…Zoisite had said he would transport him from there. So, he had a feeling that if Usagi was still there she and thus the rest of the crystals would get transported. And while Zoisite had said around 30 minutes he didn’t trust the general to stick to the actual timetable.

“I don’t feel comfortable leaving them at home when I’m out. I just start getting this weird separation anxiety if I don’t have them on me.” Usagi muttered. Really how was it her fault? She had no clue when she left the apartment this morning she was going to end up in a situation where Zoisite was going to make them fight him for the crystals. This day just started getting more complicated by the minute she swore. “I’m not sure why.”

“You know what the why you carry them isn’t the important part right now. Do you know if they would reform back into the Ginzishou if they got close to the other crystals?” Mamoru asked. Maybe they could use this unexpected situation to their advantage. They needed the Ginzishou for reasons, for reasons he wasn’t sure were different or not going by Pluto’s comment last night. So, this was an unexpected step in the right direction at least. Even if it was incredibly dangerous.

“I’m not sure how the Ginzishou is supposed to reform.” Usagi admitted after a moment. Luna had never explained the technicalities on how to get the Ginzishou back. Guess Luna had always assumed they would have the crystals together and away from the enemy when the time came.

“So, we could be walking into a trap hoping to get the Ginzishou back and then not end up with it.” Mamoru realized with a sigh. This was incredibly tricky when you stopped to think about it.

“It’s definitely a trap but we need the rest of those rainbow crystals though regardless of whether the crystals reform once together…” Usagi pointed out. As long as the last remaining crystals remained with Zoisite there was no way for the Ginzishou, but this was far from the ideal way to get their hands on them. “Let me call the others and see what they say.”

“You know they aren’t going to be particularly happy about the nature of this call right?” Mamoru asked raising an eyebrow. Usagi hadn’t even told them about her going to his apartment. This was going to be a particularly difficult call to make.

“Luna is going to give me an earful among others.” Usagi agreed making a face. This was not going to be a fun conversation.

* * *

 “You did what?!” Yeah, it wasn’t a complete surprise that Haruka took the announcement of what she had been up to the worst. It had taken a couple of minutes to get everyone on the communicator but Usagi had insisted on it before they had started on the explanation. Mainly because she didn’t want to have to explain herself multiple times.

“Usagi-” Luna began in exasperation. She should have expected this sooner or later she realized but she had been hoping Usagi would be a bit more sensible with healing other people outside of battle. “I know we told your parents and Naru knows. But we can’t tell every random civilian that your Sailor Moon. Regardless of how injured he was you can’t take care of every single scrape and bruise on someone you know.”

“But he’s not a random civilian.” Usagi admitted after a moment. “He recognized the Moon Compact before I said anything.”

“Why would he-” Michiru began and then broke off slightly in exasperation realizing what Usagi already knew. “He’s Tuxedo Kamen, isn’t he?” It made a little too much sense for some reason. Among a bit of a resemblance, there was the fact that Tuxedo Kamen had shown up several times at fights when Mamoru had interacted with Usagi. Not every time but enough to see a connection.

At Usagi’s nod, Luna let out an annoyed sigh. “I still wish you had told me before you went off and did this.” Particularly since there was no way to gauge how doing such a thing would affect her when compared to healing the Great Warrior Youma. Usagi looked okay at least now. But she did wish that she had brought one of the others along.

“I didn’t do that because I’m pretty sure you would have said no regardless of who he is.” Usagi counterpointed.

“And with good reason.” Luna reminded her. “You can draw yourself thin with too much healing. Something that you’ve already experienced when you got ill after healing the rainbow crystal carriers. You should have let someone else take care of it.”

“He was bleeding pretty badly and it's not like any of us can see a doctor with much ease.” Usagi pointed out. He could have gone and had it looked at, but it would have raised a ton of questions. She wished he had said something the night before, but she did get why he hadn’t sought actual medical help. “Besides that’s not the biggest issue. After I healed him, Zoisite challenged him to a duel.”

“And your still there why? Mamoru was challenged not you.” Haruka pointed out. Usagi remaining left her in active danger. Something that didn’t sit well with any of them.

“Yeah but this might be our one good shot at getting the remaining crystals from him.” Usagi pointed out. It was dangerous and a bit of a gamble considering she carried most of the remaining crystals. Who knows when they would get another real chance like this?

“I hate when you make a good point.” Luna muttered more to herself. She did not want to acknowledge that Usagi had a solid point that this might be there best shot at getting the other rainbow crystals. It was the truth. Who knew how difficult it would be to get the ones possessed by the Dark Kingdom if they didn’t take advantage of the current situation?

“Besides he may need help if Zoisite tries to pull a fast one.” Usagi pointed out. Usagi frowned as she thought she heard Setsuna say something along the lines of Beryl wouldn’t let him do that. Wondering briefly why she thought that but decided to drop it. That wasn’t the pressing matter on hand at the moment. “Did he say where he’s taking you both?” Setsuna finally asked.

“No, I didn’t hear it. Mamoru?” Usagi asked turning to him for a moment. He had been mostly just listening in.

“He didn’t mention where.” Mamoru answered with a shake of his head.

“Setsuna, do you think you can figure out where he is taking us once he transports us and bring the others?” Usagi asked turning back to the communicator. Considering she was how they had gotten to the Haneda airport she hoped that maybe she could do something similar here.

“I should be able to, but I won’t be able to follow immediately.” Setsuna confirmed after a moment of thought. There shouldn’t be a concern being able to get herself and the others to Usagi and Mamoru once Zoisite took them wherever he was planning. But just due to the nature of it they would be several minutes behind them. “Can you two stay out of trouble that long?”

“We should be able to.” Usagi said glancing up from her communicator to where Mamoru was standing who nodded his head in agreement. As long as they weren’t too far behind, how much trouble could they get into?

“How long until he takes you wherever?” Hotaru asked having mostly kept quiet up until now.

“He said thirty minutes. Which was around ten minutes ago.” Mamoru added loud enough so the others could hear.

“Not that I’m complaining but why give you that long?” Haruka complained. That timing seemed like an odd decision.

“I don’t know. Zoisite’s decision making’s been confusing since day one. The only one that might understand the situation is Masato.” Usagi pointed out. Maybe it was to make sure Mamoru had the rainbow crystals on him? That was the only thing she could think of.

“Someone should probably grab him.” Michiru noted. Considering this involved his fellow general he probably wanted in on this.

“I’ll get him on the way over to your place.” Setsuna volunteered. Considering how tight the time constraint in the situation was they were going to have to be fast. Shutting off her communicator.

“Stay safe and try not to get in trouble until we get there.” Michiru said before the rest of them shut off the devices.

* * *

 “You ready for this?” Mamoru, now in his full Tuxedo Kamen guise, asked as the last minutes of the time until the challenge ticked down.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Usagi said having followed suit and henshined herself into Sailor Moon. A quick text conversation had confirmed the others successfully and safely gathered back at the apartment she shared with the Haruka and Michiru. They were waiting for Zoisite to make his move now.

“You're less nervous than I would have expected for this kind of situation.” Tuxedo Kamen noted. Sailor Moon wasn’t completely relaxed but she didn’t look terrified either despite them not knowing just what kind of situation they were getting into. Though he guessed that being terrified after fighting for so long would be a strange reaction to the situation.

“It's not like this is the first time I’ve faced a general before.” Sailor Moon reminded him thinking back on the Haneda incident. Something in her gut made her think that tonight’s little affair was different from Jadeite despite the similarities she could see between the two. A general of the Dark Kingdom challenging them to a winner take all fight. The setting might be different and the opponent but there were definitely some similarities between the two.

Something about this felt more final to Usagi/Sailor Moon. Maybe because this could and probably would lead to the forming of the Ginzishou and thus the answer to just who she had been during the Silver Millennium. She was Serenity, she was the princess and heir to the fallen kingdom. As much as she wanted to deny it and pretend she had been just some lady in waiting or a distant cousin too many things pointed to that. She knew and yet she didn't want to have it confirmed, a secret fear within her heart. Usagi, aka Sailor Moon, did not _want_ to be the princess.

“Better stick close so you don’t get left behind.” Tuxedo Kamen pointed out while simultaneously stepping closer to Moon, so they were side by side.

“Yeah, I know.” Moon agreed, discreetly holding a piece of his sleeve just in case. Hopefully, Zoisite wouldn’t think about this possibility as it finally hit the thirty-minute mark. At first, nothing happened and then slowly seemingly out of thin air an almost see through bubble came up and surrounded the bubble.

“A bubble? Really?” Moon said more to herself than to Mamoru. Zoisite was more than capable of getting them back to wherever this fight was taking place at without this odd mode of transportation. To each their own she guessed. Though as she poked the side of the bubble she realized it was fairly solid and would probably take a decent attack to break out of it.

There was a distinctive popping noise and then the bubble vanished taking its contents with it. Leaving only a vague energy trace that Pluto would use to track them in its wake.

* * *

 Five minutes. Pluto had assured her over the communicator right before they had left that at most they would be following behind them was five minutes. How had it gone wrong so fast?

Things had gone according to plan at first. Zoisite had not been happy to see her but by the time he realized she was there, he couldn’t do much about it. Getting there had been the easy part. She had just needed to stick close to Mamoru and Zoisite would do the work.

Now came the hard part getting the remaining crystals from Zoisite, or rather figuring out where the remaining crystals were stored. She doubted that he carried them on his person. Locating them would be difficult.

The illusion magic meant no one other then her and Mamoru knew what she was carrying around her neck. At least those were safe. Now she had to try and keep herself from drawing attention and hope the compact would go off giving her an idea of where the remaining crystals were. It wasn’t the most foolproof plan. Sneaking around was going to be easier said than done. Even after all this time sneaking wasn’t her specialty. With her legs, she doubted it ever would be.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure what she was looking for or where to look. Where did one even begin? Maybe she was hoping the compact would start going off like it had prior when they were hunting the remaining rainbow crystals. 

Maybe that was why she registered that Zoisite had turned his attention away from Mamoru and to her too late. She should have realized that Zoisite was just making her think he was ignoring her. As it was she didn’t realize it until Mamoru forced his way between her and a flying ice crystal Zoisite had tried to send in her direction and taking the hit meant for her.

It was just bad luck that Saturn’s barrier flaring to life a second too late to stop the crystal from hitting Mamoru. They had gotten there too late to stop Zoisite from getting to one of them.

She vaguely registered someone yelling no. Though it was from her or from one of the others she wasn’t sure she was too wrapped up in the task again, but not the one of finding the remaining rainbow crystals. That objective had flown out the window the minute Mamoru had gotten hurt. No, she had a new objective. She had to save Mamoru. She didn’t know how she was going to do it but she had to. She _refused_ to let anyone else die when she could prevent it! She would have **_no more_** Shingos on her hands.

Sailor Moon couldn’t live with herself if someone else died for her. Not again, not ever again. She was done with having people die in front of her and her being unable to stop it. She didn’t know how but she wasn’t going to lose another person. _No more deaths_ she reiterated to herself.

Her grip tightening around the compact, Luna had once said the Moon Healing Escalation spell should work for just about anything, why shouldn’t it work here? This might be a bit of a stretch but it was the only thing she knew that could possibly work in this situation. Her tiara was meant for destruction, not saving people.

Sailor Moon didn’t even remember saying the incantation but the growing bright light from the compact told her she had done just that. She could feel the rainbow crystals around her neck growing steadily warmer the longer she held the spell. She really didn’t understand what she was doing or how she was doing it. But she had one goal in mind, save Mamoru. Sailor Moon briefly registered what sounded like a shattering noise and then it was gone, the headache, the light, everything. There was a strange stillness for a moment and then suddenly without much of a warning the memories started overtaking her. All she could see was a flood of memories of the long-forgotten Moon Kingdom. It was too much she blacked out.

* * *

 “She’ll be fine Uranus. She just exhausted herself trying to save Mamoru.” Pluto assured. After the initial chaos had died down they were trying to figure out the next move. A youma, probably one of Beryl more powerful ones had grabbed Mamoru in the confusion. Their first concern had been Usagi and Masato had found himself dealing with a very confused Zoisite. They had been distracted enough someone had been able to slip through.

“Why did it knock her out but only gave us headaches?” Saturn asked frowning slightly. She had kept quiet up until now trying to process what she remembered. Some of it was a bit unnerving. It was going to be a long next couple of days as soon as they got out of here. Trying to understand what in the world she could remember of the Moon Kingdom now.

“Because she did more than recover her memories. That was the first time she’s tried using the crystal in this lifetime. Let alone to try and save someone else. I am not surprised she exhausted herself.” Pluto said shaking her head slightly. Actually, this was technically the first time Usagi had used it period outside of training. Her mother had been the one who had needed to wield it most.  Serenity had access to the crystal before then if she absolutely needed to but her mother had forbid her using it so she had had no experience with it outside of one or two moments. This had been Usagi’s first real-time tapping into its power in either lifetime.

Moon had briefly reverted to her former princess self when the seal had broken, and the crystal had reformed. Pluto was unsure why it had exactly happened, but she garnered at best it was some sort of reaction to the seal breaking on her memories. However, shortly thereafter that she had returned to being Sailor Moon. Probably because there had been no reason to retain her princess form.

Pluto suspected that Beryl was too busy dealing with an injured Endymion to realize she had lost Zoisite or the position she now found herself in. It gave them time to regroup without having to rush out of the Dark Kingdom lair, though it was best not to linger here for very long.

Pluto looked back at the others, two of which Uranus currently had a tight grip on. Had they really gotten everything back? With how determined the Queen had been to hide certain things her inclination was to say most likely no. However, it was something to question another time. If they didn’t recall everything then now was the worst place to discover that fact. They had bigger concerns at the moment.

“Tuxedo Kamen is alive?” Neptune asked. Her concern was two-fold. One regardless of how close, or lack thereof, they were to Mamoru he was still an ally and obviously Usagi cared for him to some extent even if none of them knew him that well. Two he had been involved in saving Usagi from what they could see from an attack from the then Beryl controlled Zoisite. So Usagi would probably feel even more guilt over surviving if he had died and she had enough as is Neptune felt at times.

“Injured. Those two would be behaving differently if he had died.” Pluto said making a motion back Masato and Zoisite. Much like the senshi had bonds with their princess and would know if she or one of them died, the earth generals held bonds with there prince. They would know if Mamoru was dead. Masato was currently trying to catch Zoisite up on the situation indicated that while Mamoru had been injured badly Usagi’s magic had saved him and not possibly moping over the death of his prince.

“What do you mean we _abandoned_ Elysian?” Zoisite’s question carrying over from where him and Masato were talking. Or rather Masato was trying to explain to an apparently very confused general. “Why would we abandon our home?”

“New question. What’s the deal with Zoisite?” Uranus asked jabbing her finger in the direction of the confused general who was having a conversation with Masato. The only thing obvious at the moment was that he was hopefully no longer a threat since he hadn’t moved or made a motion to attack anyone. Instead seeming to be more interested in talking to Masato.

Luna frowned slightly glancing over at the general. “It's possible that Moon might have accidentally healed him of whatever Metallia did to him that caused him to fall under the Dark Kingdom’s control.”

“So, he’s a sitting duck.” Uranus realized frowning slightly. If this was a repeat of the Masato situation then he wouldn’t have any abilities now that he had before Usagi had been revealed as the Moon Princess. Maybe they should continue this conversation after they got out of the Dark Kingdom.

“Not necessarily.” Luna admitted frowning slightly. Realizing what Uranus was getting at. “Moon’s magic was a lot more refined when she healed Masato. That time it was to cleanse any dark energy. This time it was more wild and less focused. More about just healing in general. Judging by what I can hear he can’t remember anything after a certain point before the fall of the Silver Alliance. She may have reverted him to a pre-Dark Kingdom state.” She wasn’t entirely sure Usagi had reverted him to being pre-Dark Kingdom as much as the shock of the situation was causing some memory loss and it would all hit later.

“That could still present problems though. Like getting out of here for one.” Uranus noted frowning slightly. Even with Pluto having been the one that got them in here there was still a bit of concern on how to get out. Particularly because part of the reason they might have been able to get in was due to the element of surprise. Beryl hadn’t been expecting them. Inside her domain could they still get out especially with the new addition?

Pluto shook her head slightly. “I can get us out of here.” While as their group seemed to be growing it was getting more and more difficult to take everyone at once they still hadn’t hit her current limit for transporting people.

“Even in a different dimension?” Uranus asked skeptically. Or at least she assumed the Dark Kingdom was in another dimension. Something about this place was otherworldly. It didn’t feel like it belonged anywhere on Earth.

“Yes, even here. This is their territory yes, they can make things more difficult, but my abilities do supersede there's when it comes to traveling between dimensions. It's just more exhausting when dealing with traveling between this dimension and ours. We may have to go to different tactics to get around soon but for now, mine will do.” Pluto admitted. She wasn’t sure if it would get easier with more practice or not. So best to find a backup plan and soon. “How are you handling remembering the Silver Alliance?” Pluto asked redirecting the conversation for a moment.

“I think we’re still slightly in shock.” Neptune said exchanging glances with Uranus. It wasn’t so much the idea that Usagi was Serenity that was leaving them in shock. Between what they had been able to recall beforehand and the various information they had seen along the way, it made some sense and they had some suspicion on the subject beforehand. It still had been a bit of a surprise to get confirmation but not maybe completely out of left field as one would expect. It was more everything that was piled on top of it. The memories of their previous life. It would probably hit in full force a few hours.

“What about you Saturn? It can’t be easy having been called on to perform your role in ending the invasion.” Neptune noted looking over at the youngest member of the group. Saturn had been mostly quiet since the memories had come back. Her own role in the fall making things a bit more difficult to process. Top that off with having been too late in getting the barrier up to prevent Zoisite from injuring Mamoru she was worried about the youngest member.

Saturn shook her head after a moment, her particular role she didn’t remember it involving the invasion so to speak. But something told her now wasn’t the time to question Neptune’s comment. Seeing the way Pluto was looking at her it was best to let them believe whatever it was they thought they remembered for now. And question the subject later in private. “No, it’s not.” That part was true. Her involvement in the Silver Alliance’s end was hard to swallow. Even if it was something she had always known she might be called on to do. But the manner of which it had happened was not what she had been expecting to remember.

Further discussion about the fall was brought to a stop as a light groan from Moon alerted the group to the fact that she was finally waking up again. A second later she opened her eyes briefly only to close them again as the headache hit full force.

“How are you feeling?” Pluto asked.  

“Hurts.” Moon groaned. Should have realized finally remembering the Moon Kingdom and all of those events would lead to a headache that felt like it was the size of the Silver Alliance. Though right now probably just how hard it was to sort everything out was probably making the headache worse. "My head hurts." Moon said with more strength.

“Can you dry swallow some pills?” Pluto asked retrieving some pills from her subpocket.

“I think so.”  Moon said sitting up and taking the offered pills. "Thank you" She had a feeling that this would be a persistent problem over the next few days as she tried to sort through what she was remembering. There was so much there to process. She paled considerably as what had just happened before she had fallen unconscious. “Mamoru…”

“Moon look at me. He’s okay. He’s injured but he’s certainly not dead. We would know by now if he was.” Pluto said trying to snap her out of her self-blame for the moment.

“Are you sure?” Moon asked a bit meekly. She wanted to believe that he was okay but that crystal had looked so big and deadly and the injury had looked so bad…Had she really finally been able to save someone from dying for her sake?

“Positive.” Pluto assured her. Mamoru maybe injured but he wasn’t dead she would know.

“Where is he?” Moon asked after a moment looking around as Uranus with clear reluctance put her down. Though part of her already knew. Someone at the Dark Kingdom had to have taken him. It was the only thing that made sense when she factored in the fact they were still here. He had been to hurt beforehand to remain here without medical help. Even with her intervention. If he hadn’t been captured, they would already be at a hospital.

“In the chaos after you unlocked the Ginzishou and tried to heal Tuxedo Kamen one of Beryl’s minions took off with him.” Neptune explained. They had been more concerned with Moon for a crucial few moments. Just enough time for Beryl’s minion to slip by.

“That’s not much better.” Moon muttered to herself. What was to say Beryl wouldn’t kill him? Though she guessed if she had wanted to she would have had the youma do it not come grab him.

“Beryl won’t harm him. She’s more interested in him alive then dead.” Pluto assured her seeming to sense her worries. Beryl was physically incapable of killing Mamoru due to the vows she had taken when he was still Endymion, not that Pluto could talk about it. Her grip tightened on her staff as she starred in the general direction they had taken off with him towards.

“What else did I miss?” Moon asked.

“You accidentally healed Zoisite kitten.” Uranus said starting to sound a bit amused by the situation. Now that they knew Moon was okay, sans a headache, she was feeling a bit better. Not relaxed. That wouldn’t come until they got out of here but better.

“I did?” Moon asked in surprise glancing over at the two generals. Well that hadn’t been her intention but if it meant she had saved someone else she wasn’t going to complain. The more she could save the better in her opinion. Regardless of their previous actions. “Does he remember hurting Mamoru?” If he did she can’t imagine that going well. The generals’ job were to guard Endymion not attack him.

“No for whatever reason you wiped out his Dark Kingdom memories for the moment.” Pluto explained.

“Permanently?” Moon asked. If it was permanent then there were some long awkward conversations ahead, having to tell someone that you had spent that long working for the enemy of your prince, had even possibly fatally injured him during that time. She wouldn’t want to have that conversation with anyone.

Pluto frowned glancing back at the general. “It’s hard to say but I think no. He will regain his memories in time.”

“Let's grab those two and get out of here.” Uranus said breaking in. They had been here way longer than she ever wanted to be. At this point, there was no reason to remain. Moon was awake, and they couldn’t do anything about Mamoru as of yet. It was better to continue this somewhere that wasn’t tied to the Dark Kingdom.

* * *

 Sneaking out had been surprisingly easy considering just where they were. Setsuna had been right about Beryl being too busy with other matters to give them much mind at the time.

They had waited a couple of days to get together and try to sort everything out that had happened. This was for two reasons. One they were dealing with their own sudden memories of the Moon Kingdom and the confusion caused by it. Two, Masato still had to fill Zoisite in on everything he was missing. This had, understandably, taken awhile.

“You really don’t remember anything from working for the Dark Kingdom?” Haruka asked still a bit skeptical at Zoisite’s situation when they finally had a chance to talk again. She had no clue how long the generals had worked or lived in the Dark Kingdom but the way Masato had talked on previous occasions, it had to have been a while. To have so much time missing from your memories…

“The last thing I clearly remember is Ruby falling ill.” Zoisite said rubbing his head slightly. “I am starting to get bits and pieces back rather quickly. How did this happen anyway?”

“There’s a chance Usagi’s magic is responsible for this. I would give it a couple of days.” Setsuna assured him. There was a probability some memories might never come back.

“Why would my healing magic wipe out his memories?” Usagi asked in confusion. She guessed it was because those memories were tied back to the Dark Kingdom and she had been trying to heal something related to the Dark Kingdom. Even then it didn’t make much sense. 

“The Ginzishou has always been a strange item whose limits aren’t understood. That’s why I said it was probably behind the lack of memories. Even then I am not certain.” Setsuna admitted. Records of the Ginzishou and just what it could and couldn’t do were lacking even before the fall. The best recording would be the Moon’s old archival data but considering that was preceded over by a version of the last Queen she wasn’t entirely sure if they would be able to get more information on the subject out of her. “There’s a chance that you're just blocking it out because it's rather traumatic.” Setsuna added towards Zoisite. Working for the Dark Kingdom couldn’t have been easy on any of the generals.

“Who's Ruby?” Hotaru asked after a moment, picking up a detail the others seemed not to question. She had heard Zoisite reference someone named Ruby but that was the first time she remembered hearing that name.

“Ruby was Naru’s past self. She fell ill and passed away not long before we turned to the Dark Kingdom.” Masato explained knowing at this point Zoisite wouldn’t know who Ruby was in the present day. “I think this development has confused me more than answered my questions about why we left Elysian.” Masato confessed running a hand through his hair. He had regained some of his own memories in the aftermath of yesterday’s incident. Rather than helping him understand the situation it just raised more questions. “I was bonded to Ruby. I was happy with her. I **_clearly_** remember that even more so after yesterday. Why on Earth would I have started courting Jupiter?”

“Don’t look at me. I don’t remember suggesting it to mother.” Usagi said shaking her head slightly seeing the looks she was getting since Jupiter had reported to her along with the rest of the Inner Guardians. Admittedly her memories were jumbled but from what she could recall that had never been something she had uttered. “Actually, from what I can remember at times I wouldn’t have put it past mother to have been the one to come up with the idea.” Her mother had always been trying to be one step ahead of everyone else when trying to rule the Moon Kingdom. There was probably a lot she didn’t know or remember about her mother’s plans. That being said Usagi just couldn’t see her own past self having suggested Masato and Jupiter courting. Even if she hadn’t known Naru in her past life she couldn’t see her getting in the way of someone who was happily in a relationship with another.

“It was the Queen's idea.” Setsuna confirmed. “She thought with Serenity being courted by Endymion that having the two sets of guards court each other was a smart idea.” And it would have been if things hadn’t already been set well beforehand.

“That makes sense…” Masato agreed with some reluctance. He could see where the idea was coming from at least. “But even then, can’t you only have one soul bond?”

“Slight misunderstanding. You can have more than one soul bond, but you can only be bonded once. In order for you to have been bonded to Ruby and Jupiter, you would have to been bonded in the same ceremony.” Setsuna clarified. Anything else between the two would have been a lower level bond.

“And I was bonded to Ruby long before I ever met Jupiter.” Masato concluded based on what he was remembering. He and Ruby had been bonded for a couple of years before him and the generals had made their first trip to the Moon Kingdom. There was no way he would have been able to be bonded to Jupiter. “Did she know that Zoisite and I were happily off with other people?”

“Yes.” Usagi said quietly. “I don’t know if she knew you were bonded but I can vaguely remember her talking about you two being involved with other people.” It was a very faint memory and she couldn’t remember much other than a few words here and there for some reason. But she could distinctly tell on that her mother had known at least to an extent that the generals had prior relationships.

“Even if she didn’t know about the bond at that moment, she would have known for sure when you two tried to bond. The ceremony to bond you two would have failed. She oversaw most of the ceremonies where partners were bonded. She wouldn’t have been ignorant forever.” Setsuna added. 

“What was she thinking?” Zoisite asked scowling slightly. Even with the Dark Kingdom’s interference him and Kunzite had been happily together for a long time now. He couldn’t see him being happy with someone else. Politics aside of course.

“Maybe she was thinking that you could pretend to be a couple in more formal events but stay with your bond mates outside of the public eye?” Michiru suggested. It hadn’t been that uncommon when dealing with arranged marriages to hear about people having someone on the side. If the queen had really wanted those two together as a couple to promote unity that would have been a solution. Not a perfect solution but one none the less.

“Has anyone tried asking Luna about all of this?” Hotaru butted in. Luna had been off elsewhere when they had gotten together. Possibly talking to Artemis had been Usagi’s guess on the matter.

Usagi cringed slightly. “Not yet. I’m not looking forward to our first real conversation with my memories restored.” With her memories restored among other things, she was now certain she had never had feelings for Mamoru in one life or the other. Something that was going to be difficult to Luna when it came time to have that conversation. She had a feeling that some of Luna’s expectations weren’t going to be lived up to.

“You're worried she’s expecting you to suddenly be acting all princess like?” Setsuna gathered. It made the most sense. Though there might be a few other things weighing on Usagi’s mind.

“That and some other things.” Usagi admitted. The acting like a princess was definitely a concern but not the only one.

“It will be fine kitten.” Haruka said reaching over and ruffling her hair slightly.

* * *

 “How are you handling Mamoru being held captive by the Dark Kingdom? I mean he was your bond mate back during the Silver Millennium.” Luna asked the next day. Mamoru, or rather Endymion, hadn’t been a topic brought up much, but she figured it had to be on Usagi’s mind in some way. She was still confused on a few things, but this was one thing she was fairly sure she had straight. Or she at least hoped she was.

“I don’t feel that way towards him so I don’t understand how we were bonded.” Usagi admitted for the first time running a hand through her bangs. Or at least she was fairly sure she didn’t feel that way. The thought of kissing Mamoru actually made her want to make a face. Whereas the thought of sharing a kiss with Haruka again made her heart race again. Not that she would probably admit it to the other two. She didn’t want to ruin what relationship they had. The kiss would have to remain a one-time thing no matter how she actually felt towards the other two.

Her lack of interest in kissing Mamoru to her meant she didn’t have romantic feelings towards him. Which confused her because from what little she did know of bond mates those were exactly the kind of feelings she was supposed to be having towards him. Which seemed to suggest there had never been a soul bond to begin with. Since yeah, she was concerned about Mamoru’s wellbeing but not because she was deeply, or otherwise, in love.

There was a momentary silence from Luna and then. “What?”

“I just said I don’t like Mamoru in the way you would feel towards a lover. I find the way I feel towards him more like a brother or a distant cousin at the absolute worst. More family than a possible boyfriend. Definitely not someone I want to have kids with.” Usagi admitted shrugging her shoulders. It was kind of interesting just how different her current feelings seemed to be from the ones Serenity had had towards the end of her life. Where she seemed to think she was deeply in love with Endymion. Maybe Serenity had been faking it on some level even back then. 

“That shouldn’t be possible.” Luna muttered under her breath.

“Luna” Usagi began in exasperation.

“A soul mate bond should make it impossible for feelings to be anything other than romantic.” Luna continued to mutter to herself ignoring Usagi’s attempt to break in.

“You seem to be really convinced we were meant for each other.” Usagi noted. Certainly more convinced then she was on the matter.

“Everything I remember from the Moon Kingdom says you two were bonded and if that’s the case there is no way your feelings should be more familial than romantic.” Luna said putting her paw to her face. She thought she finally had a grasp on most of everything when she had gotten her memories back after Usagi restored the Ginzishou. Then again when she started thinking again about the things she had learned in the past five months and what she remembered of the Moon Kingdom. There were definitely inconsistencies. Which brought up the question again just how accurate were her memories? She had thought this had all gotten resolved with the return of the Ginzishou. Apparently not.

“Maybe Venus or Setsuna could help?” Usagi suggested.

“I have a feeling I would get a non-answer from Setsuna if I tried asking. As for Venus, I am not entirely sure I should be asking not because I think she’ll withhold information but because I’m not sure if she remembers either. I think this problem goes deeper then I thought.” Luna realized. She had thought that once the Ginzishou was back together everything would make sense.

“You think we didn’t get our actual memories?” Usagi realized frowning slightly. If that was the case just what had they gotten when they the Ginzishou had reformed? Well, other than to have a weapon to use against Beryl and the Dark Kingdom.

“I’m not sure. As absurd as it sounds its the only thing that makes sense with the subject of you and Endymion. The one thing I thought would smooth out the inconsistencies seems to have made them worse.” Luna admitted with a frown. Maybe it was time to take a trip to the Moon to see if there was anything left that could be salvaged into answering their questions… 

* * *

Setsuna wasn’t entirely shocked when Hotaru showed up at her doorstep two nights after Usagi was officially revealed to be Serenity and the seal on the memories had been released. She knew all of them would eventually seek her out for that reason alone. Hotaru? Hotaru would have her own reasons for wanting to talk to her. She had suspected Hotaru would be the first one to approach her, and she was right.

“I know you said that we would know for sure if Mamoru had died and Beryl had more interest in him alive. Are we sure he’s not slowly dying?” Hotaru asked after a moment taking the offered teacup though not really feeling thirsty. She kept turning the cup in her hand. Hotaru hadn’t admitted it to anyone but she kept having nightmares about it. Mostly about Mamoru not getting in the way in time and her being responsible for nearly killing the princess. She got her reflexes weren’t on par with the others yet because she hadn’t been at it as long. But that didn’t stop the fact at how close the whole situation had been to being deadly for Usagi from haunting her.

“No. I would know if he’s slowly dying. He might not be a hundred percent, even with healing magic that would take time to recover, but he’s alright.” Setsuna said shaking her head. There were several ways for her to know if Mamoru’s life was in serious danger. As is, he was as safe as one could be when they were being held by the Dark Kingdom.

Hotaru frowned at her. “How do you know-” She broke off as an almost impossible thought accrued to her. It was absurd almost there were other explanations as to how Setsuna knew but something told her that wasn’t the answer to the question she had almost asked. “Mamoru’s your bond mate.” Hotaru realized in shock nearly dropping the teacup in her hand. The only way Setsuna could be so confident in the fact that Mamoru was still alive was if she had a connection with him. Sure Setsuna had her abilities due to being the senshi of time and space but she had reiterated time and time again that she wasn’t omniscient. Setsuna sounded confident on this subject, more confident then one would think to know the time stream sometimes hid things from her.

Setsuna raised an eyebrow in surprise. She hadn’t expected for Hotaru to go to that conclusion instead of her knowledge coming from the time stream. Since she had… “Yes, him, I, and another went through the ceremony a few months before the Dark Kingdom started to pick up speed.” Setsuna explained. Before secrets had come out in the open and everything had gone so wrong.

“Who's the other?” Hotaru asked in confusion. She had a hard time thinking of a third possible candidate that Setsuna would have been interested in, male or female.

“I can’t say.” Setsuna said shaking her head. Secrecy vows were a tricky thing not that if she was ever sure she could ever admit who the third trine mate was. She was honestly a bit surprised that she had been able to confirm Hotaru’s suspicion without the vows kicking in. In this day, after all the changes, it would be hard to believe for someone that hadn’t known her in her heyday that she could be anything other than the way she was now.

“Stupid secrecy vows.” Hotaru complained under her breath. Realizing that Setsuna had been sworn to not talk about it. Though this just made her more curious about the subject.

“It's not just that. I’m not sure if you would believe me if I told you. I have a hard time reconciling who she was with what she has become.” Setsuna said shaking her head. What she would give to have her other bond mate back to the woman she had loved before the fall of the Silver Alliance.

Hotaru shot her a confused look. “Just who could you have been involved with-” Hotaru broke off there for a second as something clicked unexpectedly an old memory she hadn’t even realized she had telling her what she needed to know. There had been only one other person Setsuna had shown interest in during the Silver Millennium and it wasn’t a surprise that Setsuna was reluctant to talk about it. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” There was only one answer to that question and she really had a hard time wrapping her head around it. “You, him, and her? Seriously?” Hotaru asked skeptically. Hotaru guessed the later must have changed quite a bit because she couldn’t see Setsuna and her getting together.

“She was a very different person.” Setsuna said after a moment. What she would give to have her bond mates back before everything had gone so wrong.

“What went so wrong?” Hotaru asked more of herself then of Setsuna. Things had been going along smoothly when she had gone under her required slumber. Things hadn’t been perfect for sure. For the most part, the Silver Alliance had been thriving. Because of her being slumbering she had no clue what had changed so drastically to reach the point of the Queen calling on her to end the Silver Alliance.

“A lot of things as you, unfortunately, saw yourself.” Setsuna said after a moment. 

“Do you think you’ll ever get them back?” Hotaru asked after a moment.

“Mamoru, usually I get him back in time. Her on the other hand... The things that would have to happen for us to be whole again in such a way...” Setsuna trailed off closing her eyes after a moment. Most timelines she and Mamoru eventually ended up together eventually. Her other mate, on the other hand, most of the time they couldn’t get to her before it reached the point of no return in bringing her back. The possibility was so slim, so specific, she didn't imagine it to exist for anything but to torment her.

“I’m sorry.” Hotaru said after a moment.

“Its not your fault. The one who is to blame is long dead.” Setsuna said shaking her head and wiping the tears she hadn't realized had begun to fall. The best she could settle for was expressing her frustration at an old recording. Even then it wouldn’t get all her thoughts and feelings off her chest.

“Yet she’s still managing to make our lives complicated from beyond the grave.” Hotaru grumbled. How could someone dead for millennia still cause so much pain even now? “You really don’t blame me? For not getting the barrier up in time?” Hotaru asked with some reluctance. If anyone had a right to blame her, outside of the generals, it was Setsuna. That was her bond mate who had paid the price of her failure.

“No. You shouldn’t have had enough time. It’s impressive and infuriating that the barrier just came up short.” Setsuna noted. A second or so early and they might not even be having this conversation. “How are you handling remembering it? The end?” Setsuna asked. Though that wasn’t exactly what she was asking, and she knew Hotaru knew it. With all the vows put in place by the Queen to keep anyone from finding out about just how things had been at the end of the Silver Alliance, she couldn’t go into specifics.

“Nightmares. I keep having nightmares.” Hotaru confessed. The near incident with Mamoru wasn’t the only thing haunting her sleep the last two days. It was one thing to have been trained and warned in the possibility of having to use her powers to bring the end of a planet or civilization. It was another thing entirely to have to done it. She couldn’t stop seeing the end of times.

“If you need to talk about it…” Setsuna began. She may be limited to just lending a helping ear, but she'd do so for all her life if it helped. It wasn't her princesses’ fault and certainly not Hotaru's. They didn't deserve this, and she felt a failure for all the vows she had taken that stopped her from crossing that line. She would gladly spend the rest of eternity if it could make up for it.

“Thank you.” Hotaru said giving a bit of a forced smile. It would probably be a while before she felt comfortable talking to anyone about it. But it was good to know that she had someone to turn to when she was ready.

* * *

 A couple of nights later Usagi woke up from another memory of the Moon Kingdom screaming. The night of Serenity’s death had finally hit fully, and it had been terrifyingly painful. That, of course, sent Haruka and Michiru running. “I’m fine.” Usagi tried to assure them even if that was probably was far from the truth if she allowed herself to actually stop and think about it for more then a quick moment.  That particular memory was probably going to be haunting her for a while to come. Hand absentmindedly going to her abdomen where some of the pain had been focused during the memory.

“You don’t look fine.” Haruka commented. Usagi was looking pale, with a green tint around her cheeks, and had a noticeable sheen of sweat. The younger girl was trembling, gripping the blanket so tightly her knuckles were white.

“Moon. Nightmare.” Usagi finally managed. That was a mistake as her stomach decided to let her know. “Trashcan.” She managed. Michiru grabbed the nearby trashcan over so Usagi could vomit. Rubbing a hand soothingly up and down Usagi’s back as Haruka pulled the girl's hair away from her face. The incident only solidifying the other’s two worries and concern of what Usagi had seen.

“The night it fell?” Michiru guessed. From what she could make out from her memories the Moon Kingdom had been peaceful for their lifetime. There was only one real incident that probably could have shaken Usagi to this extent.

A reluctant nod. “Please, I can’t talk about it.” Usagi’s voice cracked for a moment. She had been trying to keep that particular memory as far from her focus of attention as possible. She had it, she knew she had it since the seal had fallen. Usagi hadn’t been ready to deal with it quite yet. Still wasn’t quite ready to deal with it. Her mind had other plans.

“We'll be here when you are.” Michiru assured her. She had a feeling that wouldn’t be in the immediate future, but whenever Usagi was ready to talk whatever happened during the Moon’s final hours they would be there.

* * *

 “She’s sleeping again.” Michiru said to Luna a short while later. They hadn’t intended to really stay this long after Usagi had had the nightmare. Neither Michiru nor Haruka had felt compelled to move yet either. “It was a memory. We couldn’t get her to tell us which memory it was other than it being the night the Moon fell.”

“I was expecting it sooner or later. The end of the Moon Kingdom…well it was unpleasant. It was most cruel, perhaps, to our princess.” Luna admitted as she hopped onto the coffee table. The death of Serenity, Endymion, and her guardians had been far from bloodless. She assumed that Usagi hadn’t had a break down prior to now because she still had been in shock over remembering everything. Now she was wondering what in particular had caused this. If it had been something in particular about the memory or if it was just the whole memory hitting all at once.

"We had speculated as much. Enemy invasions, even in this day and age can be overtly cruel." Michiru said. They didn't know what had happened on the Moon. They may not know for a long time. But they could speculate and guess at what might have happened. Though some part of her hoped that there own speculations were worse then what had happened. She had a feeling that wasn't the case. “Usagi was right.” Michiru admitted quietly after a moment.

“About?” Luna asked turning back to them.

“You remembered how she seemed to dream of our deaths in the Silver Millennium back when she was sick?” Michiru asked to which Luna nodded her head. “She had it almost verbatim to what we recall happening. She had a good chunk of our last moments.”

“I was really hoping that would be disproved.” Luna admitted after a moment. She had almost forgotten about that with everything that had happened or been revealed since Usagi’s memories as Serenity had finally returned.

“Still don’t know why she remembers that?” Haruka guessed.

“No. I still don’t understand how or why she has that memory.” Luna admitted with a frown tail swishing slightly in agitation. “I’ll talk to Artemis and see if Venus might be able to provide some insight.” She let out a sigh that seemed to weigh thousands of years of age upon her tired shoulders. “I was really hoping that the seal on the memories would answer questions but all it's really done is create so many more. I don’t suppose you remember anything that could particularly answer why she also has that memory?”

"Nothing that we know of. We're just as lost about why she has that memory as you both are." Michiru said shaking her head. There was nothing in either of their memories that could explain it. Not even in some of the memories of the rebellion. That somehow still didn't make sense even after the crystal's restoration.

* * *

  _Michiru wasn’t sure what had surprised her more, that she was still seeing her memories of the Silver Millennium in dreams or what her first dream after the Ginzishou was reassembled was depicting. Michiru had expected to dream about her death during the Silver Alliance, though she already knew how it went. That wasn’t the case here. Whatever this was had her past self annoyed and Serenity pouting._

_All I wanted was some fresh air.” Serenity grumbled under her breath. “I didn’t think doing that would cause trouble.”_

_Rhode let out an exasperated sigh. “Times have changed Princess. There is an active rebellion now and it is too dangerous for you to have the same freedom you once had. Even if it’s not spread to the Outer Planets, it's still too dangerous to assume that you can walk the streets of Atlas unsupervised.” That and there were some slightly more unsavory places in Atlas that would not be a good idea for the Crown Princess to be wandering into. Rebellion or not, though the active rebellion made stepping foot there an even worse idea. She only had a vague idea of what the Moon’s capital was like, but she doubted it had those same type of areas._

_Serenity uncrossed her arms after a moment with a sigh. “I know that I just…” Serenity trailed off there seeming to be trying to think on how to continue that thought. “It’s hard to be cooped up in the castle all day. I miss going to the gardens.”_

_Rhode sighed picking up what Serenity was indirectly saying. She was feeling cramped in the palace. Considering the Moon Palace was the largest castle in the system the feeling wasn’t a stretch. With its sprawling architecture and lavish gardens Triton, even as large as it was, would probably feel a bit cramped in comparison to a place like that. Add in the fact that Serenity was used to having more freedom and there was bound to be an adjustment period as they had seen today. “I’ll see if I can’t arrange a trip to the gardens on the edge of the city with us accompanying you. Though after today’s stunt it may be a bit before we can convince anyone.”_

_Serenity lit up at that. “Thank you.” She let out a brief sigh before moving topics. “I still wish that my first trip here hadn’t been over a rebellion. I know so little about it.”_

_“You still don’t know what caused it?” Rhode asked surprised. Then again it seemed only a handful of people, herself not included at the moment, knew what caused the rebellion._

_Serenity clicked her tongue in visible annoyance shaking her head. “Mother won’t tell me.” Like many other things_

_“It seems counterintuitive to not tell you something that could affect the very future of the Kingdom your set to rule.” Rhode noted raising an eyebrow. Why hide something like this? The Queen wasn’t immortal and eventually, the Princess would be of age to rule. Even if whatever it was remained hidden for now it couldn’t remain that way forever. Eventually, she would know._

_“It is but I’m not surprised she’s hiding it.” Serenity confided seeing the surprised look on the other girl’s expression she elaborated. “I don’t know what you think our relationship is like since you, Uranus, and Saturn didn’t grow up with me like the Inner Guardians but…my relationship with my Mother has never been the greatest. I know she kept a lot from me growing up. I’ve never been able to get her to tell me much of anything. Not telling me what caused the rebellion is nothing new.”_

_“My apologies.” Rhode said after a moment. Her and her own mother were a bit distant at the moment but had been close growing up. The current distance was because her energy was focused on getting her brother ready to rule as regent until she was done with her work being primarily that of Sailor Neptune however, not anything else. She still knew and felt she could go to her, trust her to tell her important things she should know like this. It was hard for Rhode to imagine not having that bond with one’s parent._

_Serenity gave a strained smile. “You didn’t know. I won’t say it’s fine, but I am used to it. Some of the other queens keep me more in the loop than she does, treat me more like a daughter than she does, even if it is something I know they do not see that way.”_

 End Chapter 26

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week! 
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed this week's chapter. Please remember to leave a review or a comment. I don't always reply but I do read all of them and appreciate them. Every one of you is awesome. 
> 
> We will be back on the 9th with Chapter 27. 
> 
> Here's the preview for next chapter:
> 
> “Thanks.” Usagi said as they roamed between stores. The understood thanks being towards the fact that Naru was blatantly ignoring the recent events and treating it like a normal day before Luna had entered their lives. Even with all the other changes it was nice to have Naru as a constant in her life. No matter what else changed Naru was still Naru and without the influence of the Moon Kingdom her opinions wouldn’t change. She kind of felt a bit bad leaving the others behind. But…she really just needed time away from the senshi and princess thing about as far as she could get. And as much as she loved the others even if they weren’t talking about it she had a feeling them being there would still drag it back up in some form or another.
> 
> “Not a problem. I know it’s been a bit rough from what I can get Masato to admit to. I figure you need as much time away from the constant reminder of whats going on as you can. Live a little ya know?” Naru said giving her a bit of a smile.
> 
> “Yes.” Usagi agreed playing a loose strand of hair absent mindedly. She probably needed to get it cut while they were here.
> 
> “Is it just me or has your hair gotten longer?” Naru asked deciding to move the direct subject away from Senshi stuff. 
> 
> “Yes. I don't know why.” Usagi said toying with a loose strand in one of her pigtails. Since her memories had come back her hair had started growing out. Luna had speculated it went back to her getting the memories and had even been muttering something about wondering if it would turn silver like her mother’s. If it did turn silver Usagi might end up at a hair salon to get it colored for a while. She wasn’t ready to let go of her natural hair color on top of everything else. 
> 
> “We should get it cut while your here.” Naru noted frowning a bit. 
> 
> “Agreed. Luna sure definitely didn’t make it sound like it would change me like this.” Usagi said. “I really hope it doesn’t start turning silver. I don’t need more fuel for the bullies.” The last part was more muttered to herself then to Naru though. 
> 
> That's all for now. See you on the 9th!


	27. The Revolving Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone welcome back to this week's chapter. 
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or comment at the end.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 27

The Revolving Door

"Rough last couple of days with everyone's memories restored?" Artemis guessed as they got settled into the conversation. Minako had regained her own memories right around the time the seal had broken on the others. It had been rough in England. Nightmares and headaches galore. He couldn't imagine what it must be like for Luna who wasn't dealing with just one person regaining their memories but four of them.

"You don't know the half of it. Not only did Usagi break her and the other's seals, but she also accidentally restored Zoisite in the process of trying to save Endymion. Then Usagi revealed to me that her feelings towards Mamoru-Endymion." Luna corrected at Artemis' confused look. "She says her feelings are more towards that of a brother than a lover."

"That's interesting…" Artemis trailed off. A few months ago, this would have turned his world on its head, but a lot had happened in the last few months. It was no longer as shocking as it had once been.

"You're not surprised." Luna noted taken aback by his lack of reaction.

"After all the other odd things it doesn't feel as strange as it would have a few months ago." Artemis confessed. A lot of things had already been subverted as far as what they had expected based on their own memories. This was just another thing to add to the growing list. Sure, Usagi should have feelings that were more in line with someone in love but that was only if Endymion was her bond mate. It was just another item to add to 'the memories got it wrong' list. "Any idea of who she may have actually been bonded with?" Why else would their memories have been altered after all?

Luna shook her head. "No. Usagi doesn't seem to have much of an idea in who her bond mate or mates could have been. Despite the fact the Ginzishou should have restored all of their memories when it was reformed, it did not."

Artemis frowned at that. "That is troubling." If Usagi still couldn't recall who, if anyone, she had been bonded to then what else were they possibly forgetting?

After a short pause, Luna spoke again. "There's another thing, two things actually. Michiru was able to confirm that Usagi did see their deaths in the Silver Alliance."

"That is really odd. Their bonds shouldn't have been strong enough to allow it. Serenity wasn't around them long enough…" Artemis said starting to pace in front of the camera.

"I know. Michiru even confirmed that their contact with the Lunar royal family was limited. It makes no sense." Luna added. "You can't think of anything that would suggest this is possible?"

"The only possible thing is maybe they had a soul bond with her. I would normally say it would be impossible but after everything else the last few months…" Artemis trailed off there.

"It doesn't seem that implausible…" Luna finished realizing where he was going. She honestly wasn't sure what to think of the idea. Princesses and guardians didn't form those type of bonds and definitely not while on active duty like those two had been. This was, however, highly unusual for a guardian bond…

"How is everyone dealing with their memories?" Artemis asked turning the subject away from the topic of things that didn't yet have enough information about.

"Usagi's been having nightmares of the fall some nights. Haruka and Michiru I'm not entirely sure about. They won't admit to having nightmares but I'm pretty sure they're having some." Luna said frowning slightly. Even if the outposts had been fairly quiet prior to the fall of the Silver Alliance, the fall itself had been far from pleasant. She had a feeling those two were just hiding it rather than confessing just how they were handling it. "Hotaru I haven't had a chance to talk to about it. However, considering her own role I'm pretty sure she's having them too."

"Minako's been having nightmares too, of that day. She refuses to talk about them." Artemis confessed.

"Maybe it's time we let the two of them talk, Usagi and Minako." Luna suggested after a moment. "I know Minako can't come back to Japan quite yet, but having someone else for them to talk to might be good for both of them. We can at least be reasonably sure they both spent a lot of time on the moon." As good as the Outer Senshi were for Usagi they hadn't been on the Moon when it had fallen. Hadn't seen the destruction or the deaths of the others. Even she and Artemis only knew a fraction of what had happened having been separated from them by the Queen and put into hibernation. The best person to help Usagi at the moment was the one other person who understood what happened on the moon the night of the fall.

"That might not be the worst idea." Artemis agreed after a moment of thinking. "I'll talk to her about it. How are you handling things?" Artemis switched topics to his lady love's wellbeing.

Luna hesitated. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone let alone the girls, partly because she was having a hard time accepting the reality of some of what she had remembered. "I saw some rather disturbing things the night the Moon fell." Luna admitted quietly with tears in her eyes.

"Luna what did you see?" Artemis asked raising an eyebrow.

"I saw Princess Serenity getting stabbed by the Queen." Luna finally admitted. It was one of the last things she had seen before the Queen had taken her off to put her into hibernation. She had been avoiding saying it the whole time because saying it made what should feel like an impossible situation all the more real.

"Queen Beryl?" Artemis asked raising an eyebrow. Part of him already knew she wasn't talking about Beryl but that would mean it was one of their allies, and that…well even after all that had happened in the last few months was hard to wrap his head around.

"Not Beryl." Luna shook her head after a moment.

There was a slight pause as it finally clicked for Artemis just who she was talking about and just why she was so reluctant to speak of it. "No. She wouldn't. She couldn't-"

"I keep wishing it will be wrong. Of all the memories that could be wrong, that have been, I wish with all my heart for that one to be and yet..." Luna said.

"Maybe she was saving her from a long drawn out death." Artemis said meekly. Trying to find a solution to what the Queen was thinking that actually made some sense.

"If she wanted to save her daughter from that she would have stabbed her else ware." Luna pointed out. "By Usagi's own memories our princess suffered greatly for quite some time before she died to be reborn as Usagi."

* * *

 "I think you should try talking to Venus about your nightmares concerning the Moon Kingdom." Luna said the following afternoon after talking to Artemis breaking the idea to Usagi. "Don't give me that look. I know you're hiding them from myself and the others. Just because I can't hear them doesn't mean I don't notice." Luna scolded her seeing Usagi's skeptical look. She wasn't entirely sure how Usagi had been hiding the nightmares, but she had walked in on her a couple of times in the middle of one despite the continued mouthing she never heard any sound from the girl. She had a suspicion she may be intentionally using a spell to cover them up. This possibility didn't make her happy but as long as it didn't start affecting her health she would let it slide for now.

Usagi shoulders slouched slightly. "Sorry." She hesitated for a moment. "It's just so much. I really don't know how to handle talking about all of it."

Luna's eyes softened, and she sighed. "You don't have to talk about all of it. I know you think it will burden them to share it, however, I do think it wouldn't hurt to at least talk to Venus. Out of all the senshi, we have gathered, she was there. She already remembers much of what you do so you won't be any sort of burden by talking to her, perceived or otherwise." Luna pressed. She was doing this for Usagi and Minako's own good. They needed to talk to someone about the memories they had of that night and it was apparent they weren't going to tell her, Artemis, or the others partly because they hadn't been there. Why not talk with the one other person who could currently understand their situation. "I am not saying tell her everything."

Usagi hesitated for a moment and then finally. "Fine." Luna perked up at that. "But if it gets to be too much I will cut the call short."

"That's fine." Luna said after a moment. More relieved than anything Usagi had agreed to this. With her tendency to sometimes hide things she wasn't entirely sure pressuring the girl was going to work. Venus was pretty much a stranger to her at this point and considering how long it had taken for her to open up to the Outers it wouldn't have shocked her at all if Usagi had refused.

* * *

 "Sorry about having to talk at such an odd hour." Usagi said scratching the back of her head. It was late evening in Japan and thus it was early morning in London. Venus, who she now knew as Minako, looked like she had just rolled out of bed.

"Nah it's fine. The youma pop up at such odd hours here anyway it's not too uncommon for me to be getting up early in the morning." Minako said waving off the concern. Sure, it would have been nicer to not talk at such an hour, but this was what worked for them. "So, how much do you remember of that night?"

"All of it." Usagi said quietly after a moment. "Everything from us rushing to the teleporters to try and get me off-world, to the moment I finally passed in that lifetime."

"That's about accurate to what I remember." Minako said closing her eyes for a moment. She had died before Serenity, the last of the guardians to die at the hands of the DD girls. Minako had no clue how long Serenity had been forced to live on a dying world but she wasn't kidding herself. The minute she had passed any chance of possibly getting Serenity off world had gone with her. The Queen had deserted them, the Outers were either locked out in the case of Pluto or dead, and Serenity was at the mercy of those five sadistic youma. "Was it fast at least?"

"No. I had to watch those five kill you and the others and then they turned their attention to me. I have no clue how long I was at their hands." Usagi said lightly shivering at the memory. The DD girls had made Serenity watch as her guardians had been slowly and painfully killed before they had turned their attention to her. She wasn't sure how long it had taken Serenity to die but she suspected it had been hours at the very least. It had felt like much longer, like days or maybe an eternity or three, but she didn't like to think about that. She had suffered a thousand deaths it had seemed like before she had been allowed to finally pass on.

"Mars should never have cauterized your wound." Minako muttered to herself. Admittedly she wasn't sure how much control Mars had had over that decision. Mercury had been dead for a while and that last desperate act had been Mars final one herself. She knew where her fellow senshi had been coming from, but if she hadn't done that maybe Serenity's death wouldn't have been so long and drawn out. It would have been a small mercy for her but a mercy none the less.

"Mars was doing what she thought best. She thought cauterizing the wound would buy me more time until help arrived. Unfortunately, help never came." Usagi said rubbing the spot on her abdomen where the stab wound had been. "I don't blame her for making that choice. If things had been different I probably would have been grateful." Sure, maybe the affair would have been faster without Mars' interference but not one of them could have known just how long the fall would drag on for.

"How did you die?" Minako asked after a moment. Serenity had still been alive when Venus had finally died being strangled by her own Love-Me Chain. Suddenly Minako seemed to think better of her question. "If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to." It might still be too painful to talk about she realized. She had barely talked to Artemis herself about how she had died despite knowing full well what had happened.

"Sword to the chest." Usagi said after a moment. She didn't even bother asking Minako how she had died. Serenity had seen it after all. Watched the light leave from Venus' eyes and the final bond she shared with her guardians go dark. "I died with the twins long before I was allowed to follow them." Even knowing that they had been dying with their mother. Serenity's magic had been keeping them alive before one of the twins was ripped from her and skewered before her eyes. Serenity made the decision to withdraw her magic from the remaining twin to spare her the same fate of a painful death. It still had devastated her.

Minako paled as she realized the implications of what wasn't being said. Serenity had been forced to not only watch their deaths but the ones of her unborn children. "I would ask how that happened, but..." Minako said more to herself. If the youma had discovered she was pregnant, they would have used it to their full advantage. It probably had been nothing short of horrific.

"Trust me. Don't." Usagi confirmed. Just thinking about how they had died made her sick to her stomach. Part of her would always feel guilty for never having been able to get out of there to at least save her twins.

"I wonder who dealt the final blow." Minako asked more to herself. Wondering if it was Beryl herself. Something told her the answer was no. Beryl had disappeared early on in the chaos along with the Queen. She had a feeling that wherever the Queen had been was where Beryl was at the time.

"I don't know, and I never will. They tossed me to a mob as I was dying. By that point I was so out of it I have no clue who actually dealt the final blow or what blade it came from. Even if I had been aware I might not have been able to tell you. There were too many people." Usagi said shaking her head. There was a possibility it came from the Sacred Blade which had disappeared with her mother at some point. By that point, Serenity had been so far gone… "I was so out of it when I finally passed on I actually was having hallucinations."

"Really?" Minako asked raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Of whom?" There was a slight chance with knowing how those bonds worked that it was more than just a hallucination. Someone who had come to comfort Serenity in her final moments, so she wasn't alone when she finally passed. She had heard some tales of it happening with old bond mates from her mother growing up. It wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

"Uranus and Neptune." Usagi said after a moment. It struck her as interesting that it was those two that had shown up.

"Huh" Minako said confusion leaking into her voice. Those two would have been the last ones she would have picked to come to Serenity's side in her final moments based on her own memories. "Well, that's interesting. You would have thought since you were romantically tied with Endymion-" Minako began in thought.

"I don't feel that way towards Endymion or his current self in that manner." Usagi answered in a clipped tone. She was getting tired of having to remind everyone of this.

"I could have sworn you two were bonded." Minako said frowning slightly trying to sort through the mess that was her own memories. She was obviously missing something here. Soul bonds were supposed to be made on love. Sure, you could make bonds out of just about anything when you thought about it but some of that was not a good idea. She doubted the bond would have been approved if its formation was based on anything other than love. Minako found herself going over her own memories in confusion. They always seemed like a happy, beaming couple most of the time when they were together. It definitely wasn't a forced bond; their relationship would have been vastly different if that was the case. Why wouldn't Usagi or Serenity have been in love with Endymion? Why did her past self think they were bonded? If Endymion hadn't been Serenity's intended who was? Had it been Uranus and Neptune, as farfetched as that felt right now?

"I'm pretty sure we weren't. In fact, none of us were bonded as far as I know. Or at least Jupiter wasn't so I think that opens the floodgates for everyone else." Usagi said with a shrug.

"Wait how do you know that?" Minako asked more than a bit confused. That seemed like a random piece of knowledge to know Jupiter wasn't bonded to her Terran equivalent.

"Her intended was already bonded to someone else. I know this because I've had conversations with his actual intended." Usagi explained. Being best friends with Naru had its benefits at times. "They were together long before him and Jupiter were ever introduced."

"That is odd." Minako said tapping her chin slightly. "Wish I could get a closer look at him." With some of her Venetian powers resurfacing she should be able to start seeing soul bonds soon. At that point, she could see just who was actually bonded to whom and put an end to some of this mystery.

"How much longer until your done with school?" Usagi asked curiously deciding to get off the Moon Kingdom topic for now. Part of what was keeping Minako in England was school related. The other was the Dark Kingdom, though who knew how long it would take to get the Dark Kingdom taken care of. Knowing when school ended would give an idea of when Minako could return to Japan at the soonest.

"Just a couple of weeks, but then we still have to finish off this sect of the Dark Kingdom before I can even consider packing up." Minako grumbled in annoyance. She got why she was stationed in England but that didn't mean she liked being so removed from the action. Her primary job was to protect the princess. She couldn't do that very well when she was two continents away. "Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later."

* * *

It was two days before Zoisite showed up again. Apologizing for his absence saying he had to get back into Beryl's good graces after letting one of his youma get to Endymion, which was the excuse he had fed her for the incident. He knew he was being healed and judging by the fact she wasn't overly cranky would make a full recovery, but he didn't know exactly where Mamoru was being kept since Beryl was keeping that piece of info away from everyone.

The topic shifted back to Usagi and Mamoru again. "I already talked with this with Luna. If my past self had feelings towards him I sure didn't inherit them." Usagi admitted rubbing a hand over her face. "Yeah I'm concerned about him, but more like that if he was my brother."

"That's interesting." Masato noted with a frown. "I'm assuming when you mean like a brother you feel like he's family, rather than still wanting to get it on?"

Usagi turned green and put down the plate of cake she had been munching while everyone had been talking. The very thought... She felt like she was going to be sick. A strangled sound left Usagi and she quickly grabbed a wastebasket and promptly got sick within it.

"That answers that rather decisively." Zoisite noted in amusement. "Though it is kind of fascinating how your view then and your view now are two different things." He handed her a tissue to wipe her mouth as Michiru took the wastebasket to the kitchen to clean it out.

"Tell me about it. Luna seems to think we were bonded as soul mates in our past lives. She says my feelings should be anything but like that of a sibling." Usagi admitted. "I would assume if we at least appeared to be bonded that we must have known each other for a while."

Michiru handed the clean wastebasket with a fresh bag back to Usagi just in case before resuming her place nearby. Zoisite paused what he was to say to allow her to resettle before continuing. "That's not necessarily the case. We don't know much about the courting between you and Endymion in the past. There's a chance that it was more a case of it being politically motivated. We're not sure which since apparently we weren't privy to the early courting."

"We weren't on the early trips so that doesn't help either. We only started coming later." Masato said thinking after a moment. "When we did we pretty much stayed with the Inner court to give you two some privacy, Mostly on Venus' insistence if I recall correctly. I think that we were supposed to be courting our Inner court counterparts but that doesn't make much sense. Do you recall something different Zoisite?"

"I honestly don't recall much from that period. I do know you were bonded to Ruby well before Endymion and Serenity supposedly began courting each other. So a marriage courting would have been impossible." Zoisite admitted frowning. "Actually from what I recall the only member of our group that would have been eligible for that would have been Jadeite."

"Wait back up, Ruby is..?" Haruka began a bit confused.

"Naru." Masato explained. "She was a high lady of the minor Earth court. Princess and heir apparent to a regional throne under Elysian. She was in training at the time everything went south. Her sister was the one in charge of running the kingdom, but it was only until her sister became old enough to take over. She was a rather high ranking, so our relationship wasn't exactly a secret unlike well…"

"Mine and Kunzite's." Zoisite said with a sigh realizing where he was going. "Earth's views on same-sex relationships, even back then, wasn't overly friendly. We were kind of given a pass by most due to our standing but that didn't mean many liked it. Kunzite and I kept our relationship secret to most people. I do know Kunzite and I had bonded before the fall but I don't recall the exact timeline. Like a lot of things, it appears to be muddled." Zoisite confessed frowning slightly.

"So wait. If you two and the others didn't go to the Moon at first who accompanied Endymion then?" Haruka asked. She doubted the Earth generals or the former king and queen would have let the prince go off on his own.

"Beryl." Masato and Zoisite said at the same time. That was something they both knew for certain.

"Beryl? Really?" Michiru asked expressing the surprise she knew the others had to be feeling.

"Beryl was the court sorceress back in the day, a regional queen on Earth, and a powerhouse in her own right. Probably the closest we could have gotten on Earth to a Sailor Senshi without actually being a Sailor Senshi at the time. Before she turned to Metalia she was just under us in power." Zoisite explained. "Most likely the first few trips they felt sending a limited but powerful party was better than sending everyone. I don't think the idea of us marrying the Inner Court was established until after Serenity and Endymion had been courting for a while, but I may be incorrect on that. Do you recall meeting Beryl at all princess?" Maybe she had an idea on what may have caused Beryl to turn against Elysian back in the day.

"No, I'm sorry." Usagi admitted shaking her head. She must have met Beryl at least once before the fall but for whatever reason, it wasn't part of the memories she could recall currently.

"Why did she turn to the Dark Kingdom anyway?" Michiru asked asking the one thing that was bugging her. It sounded like Beryl was a powerhouse in her own right and hadn't needed to go there to become more powerful. So what had driven her there? Jealousy?

"We're not sure about that." Masato confessed exchanging a glance with Zoisite. That was where things started getting muddled even for them. "It may have something to deal with him courting Serenity in their past lives. We're not sure what the cause was. It wasn't power, or at least it shouldn't have been. Beryl had plenty of power without the Dark Kingdom."

"Back to the pressing matter. You can't retrieve Endymion since you don't know where he's being kept but do you think it would be possible to retrieve Jadeite?" Masato suggested with a frown turning back to the topic of how to get more allies before they took on the Dark Kingdom and Metallia. Kunzite, he was fairly certain, could be swayed over when he found out Zoisite's true loyalty. This left Jadeite stuck in eternal sleep wherever Beryl had stuck him after the Haneda incident.

"It might be possible. It all depends on how much attention Beryl is paying to him now that he's in eternal sleep. If she finds out it may reveal my position as a spy." Zoisite agreed. To be honest he didn't think Beryl was paying Jadeite's sleeping form much mind so he could probably get away with it but it might not be the best move to make right now. "I'll have to look into it but I'll need a week at least. I can't pull something like that so soon after getting in her good graces."

* * *

 Really it should have occurred to him that the most probable outcome of Endymion being kidnapped by the Dark Kingdom was this, in hindsight. Of course, Beryl would want to control someone of that power. At the time running into the prince returning from the throne room was a bit shocking, mainly since he hadn't seen him since Zoisite had nearly tried to kill his former commander.

"In light of the recent events, I managed to persuade Endymion to join our cause. Hopefully, with two people leading the charge against the Sailor Senshi we will start seeing more progress than just one." Beryl explained as the two of them stood in front of her in the throne room. It seemed more pertinent in her mind right now for Kunzite to remain in England to distract Venus. The Sailor Senshi were more powerful than ever with having gained the Ginzishou. They now had a distinct upper hand. They didn't need to be adding to their power by giving Venus an ability to return from overseas.

"Of course my Queen." Zoisite said bowing. Working with Endymion wouldn't be a problem normally. He had worked under the prince once before after all, however, knowing Beryl at this point and juncture it wasn't as simple as going up to the Prince and just talking to him. She knew what they were to each other, or at least he believed so. She would not make his life that simple.

"You two are dismissed for now. You know your orders." Beryl said. There was no reason for them to stick around. If she wanted any progress against the Sailor Senshi being made keeping them in the throne room would be counterproductive.

Endymion started to walk off in a different direction then Zoisite had originally been planning on going. Only to be stopped by the other general. "Wait Endymion. Maybe we can come up with something together to help take down those brats?"

"I've heard how well your plans have gone in the past. I am perfectly fine creating my own." Endymion said before marching off to who knew where. Zoisite winced at the comment, it wasn't exactly a lie his still controlled days showed a huge lack of follow up. The fact that Endymion right now wouldn't even consider the idea that two heads might be better then one wasn't a good sign. The Endymion he had been around during Elysian's time would have worked with him despite his past failures. He couldn't imagine a modern-day version of his prince being much different in that aspect even if he hadn't had a chance to meet the man when he wasn't under Beryl's control.

It was an unfortunate confirmation that Beryl was doing her best to keep them separate to make sure Endymion didn't possibly dessert the Dark Kingdom for some reason related to him after all of her work. Though he did wonder just what Beryl was planning to do with the Prince since he hadn't heard what the particular orders Endymion had been given were.

For the moment though he had larger concerns, particularly how was he going to get him out from under Beryl's spell? This was different from when Usagi had been able to get to him and Masato out from under her in the past. He had no clue where Beryl was sending Endymion for the moment or when he would cross paths with the Sailor Senshi to allow for such a chance. This almost made retrieving Jadeite from eternal sleep look easy.

Either way, the others needed to be informed of this new development as soon as possible. He found a safe place where he wouldn't draw attention and teleported back to Tokyo. Time to tell the others there was a new wrinkle in the plan to simply take down the Dark Kingdom.

* * *

 "She brainwashed Mamoru?!" Usagi nearly yelped when Zoisite gave them the newest update. When Masato had contacted the senshi saying they needed to get together as soon as possible she hadn't been sure what to expect, though looking back this was probably the most obvious turn of events even if it hadn't occurred to her.

"Why would she brainwash him?" Michiru asked frowning slightly.

"I'm wondering if it was even her idea." Setsuna said more to herself then. This sounded something more like the demon would have suggested. Then again if Beryl's memories of Elysian were more fragmented than whole there's a good chance it might have been her idea.

"She brainwashed us what would make her less inclined to brainwash Endymion?" Zoisite asked giving her a confused look.

"It's complicated." Was Setsuna's cryptic answer. "A question I can't really answer without a lot more knowledge than I have access to." Not that she would have been able to answer it probably even if she had the proper knowledge.

"I get you're the senshi of time and space but is this really something to be cryptic about?" Zoisite asked raising an eyebrow.

"I am not being cryptic because I want to Zoisite. I am being cryptic partly because I was sworn to secrecy on this very topic." Setsuna came very close to snapping at the general. She would rather not have to be quiet about this entire subject. Queen Serenity had done everything in her power to make sure no one could rediscover this secret and since Usagi couldn't and wouldn't know the secret for another several years at the very least there was no way to easily recant the vow. Setsuna was stuck being unable to talk about it unless the impossible happened.

"Sorry." Zoisite said backing down a little. He hadn't meant to set off the longest living senshi.

"Other than the being controlled by Beryl thing he is safe right?" Usagi asked after a brief moment.

"I doubt Beryl would have let him out of her sight if he was hurt." Zoisite assured her. "Didn't see any sign of the damage I caused." The guilt for having been responsible for the situation starting to seep back into his voice.

Masato let out a bit of a sigh. He had tried to make the point of that with them being controlled by the Dark Kingdom that he wasn't fully responsible for the situation the other day. Normal Zoisite from what he could recall would never have tried to grievously injure Usagi or Mamoru. Though that didn't seem to stop Zoisite from feeling guilty for a situation he had caused. "Have you tried approaching him at all?"

"He got cranky the one time I tried to approach him. I'm wondering if Beryl is doing something to purposely drive him away." Zoisite admitted after a moment. Admittedly Kunzite had been the member that had been the closest to Endymion prior to the fall so he would maybe have had the best chance of talking some sense into him.

"Maybe Kunzite would be able to knock some sense into him?" Masato suggested after a moment. Seemingly following Zoisite's train of thought.

"I would rather not drag him into this, going behind Beryl's back in enemy territory is dangerous work. Kunzite's safe as long as he remains in England." Zoisite admitted. "As much as I would prefer to have him close by I think its better he stayed there for the moment. It's hard to say if he would make much of a difference in affecting Endymion. The only one who could maybe make a dent would be a bond mate and he never bonded prior to the fall. It's best to keep this as limited as possible." Besides that bond mate or not he wasn't even sure how to start the conversation around the fact they had betrayed someone they were meant to serve. He had a feeling that once Kunzite was out from under the thumb of the Dark Kingdom he was going to have some issues. Kunzite, pre-Dark Kingdom had always been a noble and just type. He wasn't going to probably take the fact they had betrayed the royal family all that well. Even with all that he wasn't sure Kunzite would fix the situation. "Besides even if he could get close enough to talk to him. If this is Beryl's doing, then he would probably get the same reaction."

Luna raised an eyebrow at that. "Venus isn't exactly a slouch you do know, that right? She was the leader of the Inner Senshi back in her day as a princess for a reason." Venus wouldn't kill unless provoked or in self-defense but that didn't mean Kunzite was completely out of danger.

"I realize that but that's still the more friendly territory then a kingdom ruled by a demon and her minion monsters." Zoisite said shaking his head though… "Is there anyway you could ask them to try and maybe a bit more cautious on how they interact with him. I am not saying don't defend them but I would like my partner back in one piece."

Luna hmed in thought. Only a couple of months ago the suggestion would have seemed absurd. But with all the other changes occurring it didn't seem so strange now. "I need to talk to Artemis about recent developments anyway, so I'll pass on the request. But remember he's still pretty much under Beryl's control and they need to be able to defend themselves and other civilians. I'm not going to guarantee anything but that they will likely try not to hurt him too badly."

* * *

 It was almost a full week after the crystal reveal. Naru had decided since it was the weekend and there was nothing better to do they were going to the mall. Zoisite made it sound like Beryl was waiting until Mamoru was fully healed before she started taking action then.

Losing the Ginzishou had been a blow to the Dark Kingdom's plans. It seemed she was having to regroup and figure out where to go from there. No senshi, no talks about her being a princess, just an afternoon of them being teenagers.

"Thanks." Usagi said as they roamed between stores. The understood thanks being towards the fact that Naru was blatantly ignoring the recent events and treating it like a normal day before Luna had entered their lives. Even with all the other changes, it was nice to have Naru as a constant in her life. No matter what else changed Naru was still Naru and without the influence of the Moon Kingdom, her opinions wouldn't change. She kind of felt a bit bad leaving the others behind. But…she really just needed time away from the senshi and princess thing about as far as she could get. And as much as she loved the others even if they weren't talking about it she had a feeling them being there would still drag it back up in some form or another.

"Not a problem. I know it's been a bit rough from what I can get Masato to admit to. I figure you need as much time away from the constant reminder of what's going on as you can. Live a little ya know?" Naru said giving her a bit of a smile.

"Yes." Usagi agreed playing a loose strand of hair absentmindedly. She probably needed to get it cut while they were here.

"Is it just me or has your hair gotten longer?" Naru asked deciding to move the direct subject away from Senshi stuff.

"Yes. I don't know why." Usagi said toying with a loose strand in one of her pigtails. Since her memories had come back her hair had started growing out. Luna had speculated it went back to her getting the memories and had even been muttering something about wondering if it would turn silver like her mother's. If it did turn silver Usagi might end up at a hair salon to get it colored for a while. She wasn't ready to let go of her natural hair color on top of everything else.

"We should get it cut while your here." Naru noted frowning a bit.

"Agreed. Luna sure definitely didn't make it sound like it would change me like this." Usagi said. "I really hope it doesn't start turning silver. I don't need more fuel for the bullies." The last part was more muttered to herself than to Naru though.

"What bullies?" Naru just about demanded.

"It's nothing." Usagi said quickly.

"Usagi…" Naru drawled in exasperation and more than a little suspicion. Naru knew her friend far too well to fall for 'nothing'.

Usagi let out a sigh and then finally said, "Some of Hotaru's old bullies have taken to leaving notes in my locker trying to 'encourage' me to pick different friends."

"Wait when did this start to happen?" Naru asked eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"A few weeks ago. Around the first time, I hung out with Hiroko." Usagi admitted frowning slightly. She had been thinking the notes had started because of her friendship with Hotaru. But now that she thought about it she knew Hiroko was dealing with her own issues. Maybe the thing had gotten started because she was hanging out with both of them

"I'm surprised the others and I didn't pick up on it." Naru commented frowning slightly. She knew the start of the new year was hectic and all. And her Usagi were in separate classes now so keeping track of things wasn't as easy as it used to be at Juuban but still. She really would have thought she would have picked up on this.

"Its mostly locker notes and I usually don't go to my locker and I am usually alone when I do. Then there was the closet incident. That was only once." Usagi said more absent-minded. So lost in thought she missed the look of shock passing over Naru's face. "They're more of a nuisance, nothing too bad. Hotaru knows about it and she knows better what they can get up to. None of her stories sound remotely close to Yuki and she seems to handle it."

"Hotaru's had less experience relying on others to help with bullies than you have Usagi." Naru pointed out. She guessed on the bright side one of the senshi did know about the situation. But considering Hotaru's own history with it she wasn't sure she was the gauge on when to turn to the administration. "You really haven't told anyone?"

"No, as I told Hiroko, it's no big deal so no need to worry Hotaru about it." Usagi confessed shrugging slightly.

"Usagi. If you don't tell someone soon or at least someone who can take care of it  _I will_." Naru emphasized. "It might not be to Yuki but I don't want to see it get there. I can't watch you go through that again." The last part was said a bit more softly.

"What good would be telling anyone at this point do? I don't even know who's behind it." Usagi said frowning slightly.

Naru frowned slightly at that. "I thought you believed it was Hotaru's old bullies." If that was the case iding them should be easy.

"That's what I speculated. The only incident so far where they've actually gotten close to me is the closet. I didn't see them clearly enough to know for sure." Usagi confessed.

"Okay." Naru sighed after a moment. Pointing fingers at a school like Mugen Gaken without substantial back up could be a recipe for disaster. There were a lot more people there with families of high status then there were at Juuban. Even with having Professor Tomoe on their side due to the connection to Hotaru it could be a dangerous move. "But if something happens or you figure out who's behind it  _please_  tell someone." Naru then hatched a plan to find out who was hurting Usagi.

"I came to Mugen to get away from Juuban." Usagi assured her. She couldn't, wouldn't deal with another Yuki style scenario. And she doubted that it would fly with anyone at Mugen the same way it had seemed to fly when she was at Juuban.

* * *

 Things had been going well. Usagi had actually been starting to relax some. Then a scuffle had started and she heard someone demanding the Ginzishou and it had all gone flying out the window as she bolted up in the chair trying to ID the youma. Only to realize the person making the demands, was the woman in charge of the salon, great. Well, it had been a while since they had dealt with a youma in disguise. Hitting the emergency button on her watch to alert the others of the now developing watch. "Why can't a hair salon just be a hair salon for once?" Usagi grumbled more to herself, thinking back to the early days when Jadeite had still been the main one running the show and how many fake shops he had set up. Well, at least it had been a while since she had found herself in this kind of situation. Hand going to her broach. "Naru-"

"Yeah, yeah I know what to do." Naru said waving off the concern. "See ya outside the mall."

They thought this random other girl was her because of a random strand of hair. Really though, trying to ID her off hair? She got DNA was pretty much perfect but something had gone wrong here. Maybe a loose strand had fallen on the other girl. Who knew. Wasn't the pressing matter at the moment. Pressing later maybe, but for now, there were other concerns like figuring out how to find a spot to transform was going to be an issue. Guess she really should have brought the others along.

She was about to screw it as she saw less and less options to duck out and transform in front of everyone when the others finally arrived. "Been a while since we've seen a youma run shop." Neptune noted as she came up to her right-hand side. "Do we know if she was a youma using an illusion or if she's a human that got transformed into a youma?"

"Don't know but its best for me to try and find out she isn't one than to not try and well-" Usagi broke off there not really wanting to continue that thought. She would use the Moon Healing Escalation Spell a hundred times over if it meant they were sure the youma weren't humans being controlled somehow.

"Why does she-" Uranus began frowning catching the last part of the rant the youma was on.

"Hair strand." Usagi cut in before Uranus could finish that sentence and accidentally reveal she was Sailor Moon.

"That doesn't seem the most foolproof method." Neptune noted frowning slightly. Well maybe normally. But it was a hair salon with lots of strands around. Anyone could pick up Usagi's hair. As just shown.

"No it doesn't. Can you keep the youma distracted for me to transform?" Usagi asked deciding to ditch the ducking out idea for now. One way or another she was pretty sure she could keep her identity. Neptune seemingly sensing where her thoughts took out a nearby camera with a relatively small Splash Edge.

"That should take care of the security cameras for now though that might send security running so you're going to have to act quick." Neptune said turning back to her.

"Yeah, I know. Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" Usagi said calling out the henshin phase.

The youma looked between the other girl and the now henshined Sailor Moon in confusion. This wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a fairly simple, straightforward plan. How had she managed to mistake someone for Sailor Moon when she had all the right tools. Moon, taking advantage of the momentary confusion pulled the compact out. "Moon Healing Escalation!" Moon commanded pointing the compact in the direction of the youma. She found it easier to control the spell than before. Maybe because of the Ginzishou?

After a moment the spell ended and the youma reverted back to being a human but not the shop owner from before. Instead, strangely, there was a girl was sitting in her place, green hair though lighter then Setsuna's was still a shade of dark green and pale green eyes, young couldn't be older than 9 or 10 would have been Moon's guess. She was wearing what looked like a worn out dress that had seen better days judging by how faded it was. Moon frowned slightly, that didn't look like the human the youma had been pretending to be before it had morphed. She heard Masato, who had arrived right as the fight was ending, inhale sharply apparently recognizing her. "Masato?" Moon asked looking up at the general with concern.

"I'll explain shortly, just give me a moment. Don't approach her unless I say its okay." Masato said moving to walk up to the girl. If he was right about the situation it wasn't so much the girl was a threat anymore but she was probably overwhelmed and didn't need anything else thrown at her.

"Lord Nephrite?" The young girl squeaked as she caught sight of him.

"I go by Masato now. Look at me Jade this is really important. What is the last thing you remember?" Masato asked gently.

"Lady Ruby falling ill." The now identified Jade sniffed. "Where are we? What is this strange place?"

"It's complicated, I promise I'll explain shortly." Masato let out a sigh. So she didn't remember anything from before even the fall of Elysian. This was going to be a difficult conversation to have. Even worse than the one he had with Zoisite. Zoisite was a fully grown adult when he had gone under the Dark Kingdom's control. Jade was a child, one without parents now since they had died millennia ago. "Stay here I need to talk to some others." He told her before retreating back to the senshi.

"I thought you and Zoisite didn't get close to the youma?" Uranus asked raising an eyebrow.

"We don't…this is a different situation. I promise I'll explain what I can. This is really not a conversation to be having in public." Masato got it. They needed an explanation. It wasn't every day a youma suddenly morphed back into a human with no memories or rather no present-day memories. Considering the territory they were about to delve into, they couldn't be talking about this in public. "We'll need Pluto. She needs to be brought up to date on this situation."

* * *

"Lord Nephrite where are we?" Jade asked looking around the large entryway of the mansion Masato owned. The drive to his place had been a long one filled with questions he wasn't entirely sure how to answer. How do you tell a child who doesn't know anything about the current time that everything they knew was gone? "Are we on another planet?" Jade asked voice dropping to a near whisper.

"No, we're still on Earth." Masato confirmed. The more Jade talked the more it became apparent that she really didn't remember anything. She would know this was Earth otherwise.

"It looks so different." Jade said face scrunching up on confusion. Admittedly her parents hadn't taken on many trips when she was younger. But she would have thought she would have remembered. "How can this still be Earth when there are buildings that reach for the sky?"

"Jade you've been asleep for over a thousand cycles." Masato said deciding to call it sleeping. It was the best way to explain the situation. Cycles was the Old Kingdom term for what they now called years. As for going for sleeping over the truth... He wasn't sure telling her she had been a monster in that time was the best idea. He was going to have to consult Setsuna on this going forward. She had experience dealing with trauma and he had a feeling this would be traumatic for the child.

"For a thousand cycles?!" Jade nearly yelped. "But-but how? What about Elysian, Prince Endymion?!  _ **M**_ _ **y**_   _ **parents**_?!" Jade said her pitch getting higher as she listed all the things she could think of off the top of her head and more heartbreakingly so when she brought up her parents.

"Endymion is alive though he goes by another name now. Elysian fell not long after you went into a slumber." Masato said after a moment continuing. This was the hard part. "I'm sorry Jade. Pretty much most of what you knew is long gone, including your parents." He had no way of knowing for sure when her parents would have passed. Most likely it had been during Elysian's fall, well after she had become a youma. By that point, he had gone to the Dark Kingdom. So he had long lost track of those type of details.

"No." Jade nearly collapsed onto a nearby couch as it started to hit home just what the situation was. Burying her face into her hands. What was there left for her? No Elysian. No Ruby. Everything she had known was gone "What am I going to do? How do I bring them back? They can't be gone! They just can't!" She dissolved into tears and soul-wrenching sobs.

"We figure something out. I promise you Jade. We will find a way for you in this world." Masato said trying to reassure her. Somehow or another he would make things right by the youngest member of Ruby's court. He may not sure on just how yet but he would do it.

* * *

"Jade's currently at my house while we try and get all of this sorted. My place is far enough outside the city that it should give her a chance to settle down and not to be overwhelmed by just how much has changed." Masato said taking a seat down on the couch. Everyone was gathered back at the apartment shared by Usagi, Haruka, and Michiru to try and sort out what had just happened at the mall.

"How do you even know her anyway?" Michiru asked frowning slightly. The way Masato had talked when they were still at the mall made it sound like Masato had known this girl had known this young girl for a while which was odd when you considered that she had been a youma just a short time ago. The whole situation was hard to wrap their head around. Possession wasn't something new but possession ending in someone completely different than who they had been before they transformed was very, _very_  new.

"Jade was a member of Ruby's court prior to the fall of Elysian. I knew her because I had met most of Ruby's court prior to everything. " Masato explained. Jade had been the youngest member of Ruby's court. A kid the last time he had seen her. Still was a kid he amended to himself after the moment. He wasn't entirely sure how Jade had come out looking like she had dropped straight out of Elysian almost but she looked almost identical to how she had before everything had gone haywire.

"In the chaos that surrounded the fall of Elysian and the start of the invasion of the Moon Kingdom a lot was lost. Including what happened to some of the regional courts. We mostly assumed they had died in the coup that usurped most of the royal families. The idea that some of them had become members of the Dark Kingdom never occurred to us." Masato explained why they hadn't even been looking for the other courts up until this point. The fact they might still be alive and transformed into other creatures hadn't been something that had occurred to him or Zoisite. He ignored the incredulous looks of the others and continued. "Ruby and Beryl's court were believed to be the first to fall." Zoisite commented frowning slightly. Now that the idea had been started he was wondering too if the Jade wasn't the only member of the court that had been transformed into a youma. This was going to need to be investigated immediately.

"Back up. What's Beryl got anything to do with Ruby?" Haruka asked frowning slightly. Talking about Beryl seemed to come almost out of left field.

"Ruby is Beryl's younger sister." Masato confessed after a moment with some hesitation. It was hard to think of anyone like Naru being related to someone like Beryl. Then again Beryl hadn't always been that tyrannical either. So much had changed in those last few months of Elysian.

"I'm having a hard time imagining anyone like Beryl being related to Naru." Usagi admitted after a moment voicing what Masato was thinking. It wasn't so much that she was upset the two were related. When she stopped to think about it there was a strange resemblance between the two based on the one memory she had of Beryl. The stories she had heard about Beryl…and the way Naru was currently. It was hard connecting the two.

"Beryl wasn't always the way she was today. I wouldn't exactly have called her always kind-hearted back in her days as court sorceress. But she was a lot fairer as a Stuart for her kingdom before she left for the Dark Kingdom." Masato confessed. Having been courting and then bonded to Ruby he probably had the best idea of how Beryl behaved prior to her becoming leader of the Dark Kingdom. "She was good at her job. Maybe a bit overprotective of Ruby back in the day but good at it none the less. She only really started changing after Ruby fell ill."

"Wonder if there's a connection there?" Michiru mused to herself. The timing seemed a little too coincidental at least.

"Hard to say at this juncture, at least not without knowing what caused Beryl or her court to turn." Zoisite said shaking his head slightly.

"I wish we had known sooner so we could have done something." Usagi said after a moment hands wringing slightly. How many youma had they fought could they have saved. The idea she might have killed someone even if unknowingly made her sick to her stomach.

"I don't think it occurred to anyone that they might still be alive but converted into youma. Let alone if all of them were converted." Masato said rubbing his head slightly. The idea that some of the youma that worked for the Dark Kingdom were human at some point and could be turned back into a human was hard to wrap his mind around. "I didn't even know that was a thing that could happen until a few hours ago."

"Okay we didn't know of them before can we find them now?" Hotaru asked bringing up what was the most pressing matter. Stopping a victim from dying from something that was out of their control.

"It's going to be difficult. Up until now no one, not even us, who has been living there for as long as we have knew that some of her youma were actually humans to start with. We have no clue what to look for as possible candidates. I can't go pulling out every youma from the Dark Kingdom. Ruby and Beryl's courts weren't nearly as big as the number of youma that are part of the Dark Kingdom." Zoisite pointed out. At most, they were talking about 20-30 people in a number of youma that bordered in the hundreds to possibly thousands. Yes, their goal was to save as many as possible but finding these people were like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Seeing the devastated look on Usagi's face he continued. "I won't say I won't look for them. There may be some ques or ticks that give them away that was missed because we weren't looking for them but the chances of finding all of them is not in our favor."

* * *

"How long have I been Sailor Moon Luna?" Usagi asked turning to the cat once they were settled back into her bedroom. A couple of hours after discussing the whole affair of the youma that might be humans thing.

Luna blinked in surprise, she hadn't expected this question. "Well I found you in early January. It's currently early June so about six months."

"Six months. I've been a senshi for six months. And in all that time the one thing I thought I had a grasp on was what was a monster and what was human." Usagi muttered running a hand through her hair.

"Usagi…" Luna began not exactly sure how to proceed. She wasn't going to deny that the day's revelations disturbed her. This was like finding out the Great Warrior Youma weren't all Terran all over again... if not ten times worse.

"How many Luna? How many youma did we kill thinking they were just mindless youma but were actually human?" Usagi asked voice cracking as the tears started to really come down again.

"I don't know Usagi." Luna admitted ears drooping slightly. She wasn't going to deny the thought of 'youma' that were actually human hadn't really crossed her mind just to how disturbing the idea was. They knew of the small possibility simply due to the existence of the Great Warrior Youma. But the idea that more than those seven hadn't been youma, to begin with…Luna shivered slightly she really did hope they hadn't killed any possessed innocents in the process of trying to save the Earth. She had this feeling in her heart though, that she did not wish to ask if they had or not.

"I don't know what to do Luna." Usagi admitted through some sniffles. "I just keep looking back at the ones we fought before and wondering were they human? Could I have saved them like Jade if I had just done one thing differently."

"Usagi, you did the best with what you could." Luna tried to assure her.

"What if my best isn't good enough Luna?" Usagi asked helplessly. She felt like if she was the protector of Earth she should be able to save everyone but she was repeatedly reminded that wasn't the case. 'I need to get stronger to protect everyone!' She thought to herself.

"The important thing is we know now. We can't change the past, but we can save the future. We can prevent more people like Jade from being completely lost to the Dark Kingdom." Luna tried to assure her. They couldn't fix what had already happened, but they could be more careful with any possible youma they ran into in the future.

* * *

 Usagi had gone home for a few hours after everything at the mall. She just needed to get away from Luna for a moment, the possibility youma were people possessed and may have been even since the silver millennium just was too much for her. So she took the opportunity the moment gave her to speak with her parents. This would be the first time she had gotten a chance to talk to her parents about the past events. They still didn't know who she had been back when the Moon Kingdom was still around.

Even so, she ended up back on the very subject she was trying to run away from. "I just wished we had known sooner." Usagi said with tears in her eyes. She was still going over the Jade situation. Usagi wasn't going to kid herself. There was still a high chance that one of the youma they had beaten had been like Jade was. Usagi kept wondering if there was some difference they had somehow missed, something to mark those youma as different, yet she couldn't think of anything and that made it worse. A shiver went up her spine at a thought she refused to think, a question she refused to ask. After all, a lot of people died and disappeared back then and she didn't want to consider if any of them had been. It was cold comfort to consider any of them might have been, and the fact they so far saw no difference only made Usagi's brain go uncomfortable directions. What if..? NO! They were youma, had always been youma, and had changed or possessed some people to make them Youma too. The rest were just youma,  _just_  youma.

"You can't save people you don't even know you need saving Usagi." Her Mom reminded her. "Saving everyone is idealistic but not realistic." She could understand her daughter's guilt and where it was coming from. In reality, they had no way to know people like this young girl had existed. No way to make sure no one got hurt or killed. She was just relieved that Usagi hadn't become one by some weird twist of magic they still didn't understand.

"I know that and I'm trying to remind myself of that. It's just hard to accept." Usagi admitted. She wasn't sure if she could ever fully accept it, any of it really. It was all just so unreal.

"You know finding out that you're a princess isn't as big of a shock as one would think." Her Mom admitted after a moment. Seeing Usagi's surprised look she elaborated. "You used to have some rather elaborate daydreams when you were younger, of being a princess and above all else, you've  _always_ been  _our_  little moon rabbit and you always will be. Your father used to call you his little princess, now we just know you are a real princess to more than your father and I. It's not as strange as some other things that have happened with you becoming sailor moon and everything else that has come from that."

"Isn't it every girl's dream to be princesses when they are little?" Usagi asked looking a bit surprised. She didn't really remember talking about the Moon Kingdom when she was still a kid. But maybe she had just forgotten it. And being a princess was something a lot of little girls did dream of…

Her mother shook her head. "You used to go on about strange places and people we could never seem to find. At the time it all seemed like a typical children's fantasy. Maybe more detail then one would expect but you were little, so it didn't seem like anything but a more elaborate fantasy dreamt up by a small child." Her Mom explained after a moment. They had almost forgotten them until Luna and the Sailor Senshi had come into their lives. "You saying you were a princess lines up with some of your random talking back then. You even used to talk about a Luna on occasion." Though it wouldn't have been her and Kenji's first guess that this 'Luna' was a cat.

"What does this mean for you after you girls beat the Dark Kingdom?" Her father, having been uncharacteristically silent during the exchange, asked with brows furrowed. Would this means things wouldn't normalize after the Dark Kingdom was finally taken down? Luna had made it sound like in the beginning that once the Dark Kingdom was gone the girls would be allowed to return to normal non-dangerous lives.

"I'm not sure. I haven't thought about it. Part of me feels like that shouldn't change anything for how things will be after. The Moon Kingdom is long dead and while I may have been a princess in that life there isn't anything left to rule anymore." Usagi said after a moment of thought. Though…it felt like Luna almost expected the Moon Kingdom to rematerialize out of thin air. Usagi wasn't entirely sure how that would work. "I would rather things go back to mostly normal after the Dark Kingdom was defeated but I'm not sure that is even possible anymore." As much as she wanted to deny it she couldn't deny the worry that the Dark Kingdom may not be the only enemy she faced as Sailor Moon. That wasn't even factoring in how much of her life involved and was surrounded by people she had met since becoming Sailor Moon. Even if she wasn't fighting evil she couldn't forget what she had been doing and she couldn't imagine anything ever being the same it was before this all started either.

End Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this week!
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed this week's chapter. Please remember to leave a review or a comment. I don't always reply but I do read all of them and appreciate them. Every one of you is awesome.
> 
> We will be back on the 19th with Chapter 28. Yeah, it's an early chapter. I'm again traveling for Thanksgiving/fall break. And since that pushes it back to Tuesday. Well considering the 19th marks one year of publishing. I might as well push it one more day back early to celebrate! We will be back to our normal Fridays on the 7th with Chapter 29. So don't expect this too often.
> 
> Here's the preview for next chapter:
> 
> Eventually with some reluctance Usagi had agreed to enlist in the program with assurances Michiru and Haruka would be on standby if anything happened. If nothing else out of sheer curiosity over what was just involved in a princess training program. “So which program are you expressing an interest in?” The woman helping her fill out the forms asked as she typed something into a computer. 
> 
> “The weekend program.” Usagi answered quietly. “I have other after school things to deal with on most of the days during the week. I realistically can’t balance this and that.” 
> 
> “You would be surprised how many can.” The woman noted not really sparing her a glance. Usagi got the feeling she was being snubbed.
> 
> “Most people don’t spend the majority of their afternoons with doctors.” Usagi muttered under her breath. Between Setsuna and the program for her legs over at Mugen her weekday afternoons were busy. Plus there was always a possibility of a youma plot pop up on top of that. Usagi didn’t have the time to devote to the program during the week. 
> 
> That got the woman to actually look at her for once giving her a once over before muttering to herself. “Yeah I can see that.” 
> 
> “Excuse me?” Usagi said more then a bit indignant at the comment. Something told her with that tone it was far from just an acknowledgment of her noticeable issues. Talking about jumping to conclusions on one’s own. If she didn’t need to be there she probably would have walked out based on that.
> 
> See ya on the 19th!


	28. When Past and Present Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone welcome to this weeks chapter. 
> 
> I know this is really early. I'm traveling this week. And I wanted to make sure its up before I left. And normal posting day would have been on Tuesday if I stuck to that. And well...with the anniversary being today. I decided to move it up one day to celebrate.
> 
> Oh and yeah happy one year anniversary of this story being steadily published. Hard to believe its been a year since the first chapter of this version went live!
> 
> As always enjoy Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 28

When Past and Present Collide

"Any luck trying to find more like Jade?" Masato asked a day or two later. He had heard about Usagi's meltdown afterwards through Naru and he didn't think the fact Jade was a child and presented a possibility like this, to begin with, helped. Not only could youma possess people apparently but children as well. It was going to be a difficult road ahead dealing with the youma now that the idea had been planted in her head, not that she was the only one. If they could find the ones that were possessed innocents and separate them it shouldn't be so much of a problem.

"No." Zoisite admitted frustrated. He had been looking but it was proving to be far from an easy task. Zoisite punched the wall next to him in a gesture that belied his frustration. He was seemingly oblivious to the thin trail of blood that began shortly after as he held his fist to the wall for a moment before continuing in a failed attempt not to speak through his teeth. "There doesn't seem to be any sign or differences." He said. Zoisite thought of Jade and her smiling innocent face.

The girl had never hurt a fly even before the fall. She still was a kind and thoughtful child, and even now while suffering and struggling to deal with the situation she was suddenly in, she remained trying to lighten the burdens of Masato and Zoisite themselves while very clearly drowning in it herself. Some days were better than others and some days she'd lock herself in her room and not eat, but the fact remained she tried and he could see it. Some days she'd cry and never stop and others she'd walk around trying to help with eyes empty of any happiness herself. His heart broke for her and he knew Masato faired no better in that respect. She shouldn't have to but she was dealing the best she could, better than himself he imagined. What if there were more children like her were among the youma? What if their hands would now hold the blood of those children on them. Trapped children, there bodies being used to make these vile things physical manifestations? What if Jade's parents were among them? What if they accidentally killed her chance of reuniting with them by accidentally killing her parents if they were among the youma? So many people. So many faces. What if it was more than the courts? What if there was a reason they couldn't tell-

"What about the one human you turned into a youma? Was there anything unique about him?" Masato asked snapping Zoisite out of his torturous thoughts before he could even finish that last one. Did he want to finish that last one?

"The one at the amusement park looked like every other youma." Zoisite said shaking his head and wrapping his fist now, vaguely hoping Naru didn't see it and ask questions. "If we go by that then there really isn't any other way to tell them apart. It's going to be sheer dumb luck tracking down the living members of Ruby's court. Jade, when she was still a youma, appeared to be a youma from my perspective. There were no indications she had ever been anything else. I have no clue if we can find others like her. If they even exist or are still alive. "

* * *

 

"You want me to enlist in a princess program?" Usagi asked Luna as she was presented with a brochure after school. It was for some sort of princess training program. "Why?" It wasn't like she was going to be needing any of these techniques anytime soon. Being moon princess was in her past life after all. As far as she knew the moon itself was no longer habitable and any kingdom that had been there was non-existence. Why would she need princess training when everything that made her in a past life a princess was gone anyway?

"I want you to enlist so we can weed it out as a potential threat. They may be using it to try to find you, so it might be wise to stay ahead of them and hide you in plain sight." Explained Luna seriously. "And what if it  _is_  a Dark Kingdom plot Luna? It could be dangerous for all of us." Usagi asked raising an eyebrow. This didn't seem like the smartest plan. How would they handle this if it turned out to be a plot from the enemy?

Luna made a face at that. "That's true." It was a definite danger if the Dark Kingdom was actually behind this program.

"You just want me to enlist in the program to act more like a princess don't you? You want to turn me into Princess Serenity!" Usagi accused Luna. That was the only reason she could think of for Luna being so gung-ho about her, the thing they were after, being sent into the program they might be using to try and find her. Luna's wince confirmed her suspicion. "Well guess what? I can't be her! She  _died_! I  _am Usagi Tsukino!_ _ **Usagi and NO ONE ELSE**_!" Usagi's voice progressively becoming higher and more distressed as she went, all the emotions coming to a forefront at once, tears prickling her eyes. 'Why can't she see it?! Am I really supposed to be a replacement for the princess?!' She lingered a moment in the silence following her outburst before turning and going back inside slamming the balcony door closed behind her.

Usagi had no intention of being anyone besides herself and the very idea was horrifying! Again, she wasn't good enough. Was that why Luna wanted her? Not because of herself but because she saw her as a replacement for Princess Serenity?! Inside now, Usagi went to her room before promptly collapsing against the back of her bedroom door in the safety of her room now. She didn't even realize she was crying at first and simply numbed to the realization and simply pulled her knees up to hold herself with her back to the door. They could shove their stupid expectations for there princess replacement damnit! 'Why does it hurt so much?' she wondered. 'I am not her! I am me! I can only be me!' She thought a scream from within that remained silent to the room around her.

* * *

 

Later that evening Usagi went and got an ice cream cake and decided she'd combine her two favorite foods in one and drown her sorrows in trashy romance and Sailor V with something that was both cake and ice cream all in one. This is how she was when they found her, sitting in the middle of the couch playing Sailor V in the living room while well on her way to finishing an entire ice cream cake by herself.

Michiru eyed the packaging for the cake meant for an entire group of people and sat quietly to Usagi's left for a moment before she spoke. "So... princess seminar?" She asked as Haruka took the right side of the couch. Luna had corned them when they had returned later asking them to talk to her about the program. Though she had skimped on some of the details.

Usagi, in the middle of a boss fight, hit the button extra hard as she stuttered her timing and 'died' before setting the controller down and sighing. It wasn't like she'd be left in peace to try again right now anyway. "Luna wants me to enlist in a 'princess training program'. Said she's worried that the Dark Kingdom might be using it to track me down." She explained with a sigh. The program sounded interesting, but it gave her so many concerns, and not just the possibility of it being a Dark Kingdom plot.

"Wouldn't that be giving them what they want?" Haruka asked frowning slightly, having been observing before. If she signed up and it was a Dark Kingdom plot, to find her no less, it would be putting Usagi in a lot of danger. She would offer to sign up but she doubted she would get past the initial interview stage. She was a far cry from something that was labeled a princess training program was probably looking for.

"Luna is trying to turn me into Princess Serenity." Usagi said throwing her hands in exasperation before continuing. "Michiru, you would be great for this, Haruka you'd probably hate it but Michiru, you'd be great with this. She doesn't want me to do it because I am the best person for it or even because it makes any sense. She wants me to do it because she is trying to turn me into Princess Serenity. Luna doesn't want to accept that she died, and I am not her resurrection. I am her reincarnation. I am a different person." She huffed at the end sighing, fingers itching to reach towards that controller and pummel more pixelized baddies into submission. She settled for the last bite of ice cream cake. Even before everything had happened she had always been more than a bit clumsy. Usagi couldn't see her being a match for a program like this in any shape or form. Michiru on the hand was the epitome of grace. She would probably pass the program with flying colors.

"Maybe." Michiru slightly agreed. She had plenty of training and etiquette and manners and it might not be believable. There was no real reason for her to enlist in this type of program except outside of eliminating a threat and protecting Usagi. Haruka looked at Usagi expecting her to continue as if she knew the girl was about to burst.

A slight pause and then with some hesitation. "I'm worried that if I agree to this Luna might insist on me acting more like Serenity. She already thinks that I should enlist it for 'possible future endeavors. Serenity is dead and I am Usagi and I don't think she understands what that means. I'm worried that this might be opening the door to other things related as well." Usagi confessed. Maybe it was a silly fear, but it was one she really couldn't shake. "I get that as a past life Serenity is part of me but she's  _not_ me."

"No one's expecting you to be exactly like your past self kitten. Michiru and I are different than we were in our past lives and you are too." Haruka reminded her, while wisely not mentioning Princess Serenity had also eaten cake when upset like this as well- but then Princess Serenity, from what she could recall, also did not seek to use even the idea of violence to vent her frustrations either. They were all similar but different to there past selves, well everyone but Setsuna whom she suspected hadn't died at all and really was the same person who had lived but the rest of them had differences. Michiru was still elegant and calm but she had a shorter fuse than her past life and hadn't painted in her past life either, but she still played music and enjoyed it. Haruka herself was different as well. She had a greater aversion to dresses than she'd ever had back then, not that she'd ever really liked them, but she hadn't hated them either. Now she avoided them like the plague. She hadn't raced either back then and now she does and loves it. They were living in a different era with different circumstances surrounding their lives and were all around different people even if similar in some ways and having inherited this messed up scenario from there past lives. Usagi could never be Serenity, not really at least, just as much as Serenity could probably never be Usagi had she not have died.

Usagi and Princess Serenity were two different people raised in different circumstances. It was hard to see one being able to easily live in the others shoes. Serenity didn't get exercise like Usagi either. There were many small differences Haruka didn't even realize she'd noted or even why she knew them at all without even realizing she'd ever been doing so. Usagi wasn't Serenity and that was alright because they weren't the same people they were either. The only person who could be was Setsuna and she doubted spending that long alive came without changes of its own. No. Simply put, none of them were the same. Hell, Usagi made friends with the reincarnation of Ruby, a princess they have no indication ever met Serenity and they most certainly would have never grown up together back then. No. Different people. Luna, who had been frozen and not lived through that time would not understand even Setsuna's point of view, let alone there own on themselves and each other. They were not their past lives. For Luna, it was just recently the moon kingdom fell, for them, it wasn't even this lifetime.

Usagi broke down and didn't even seem to realize Michiru was holding her now as she continued while staring dead ahead of herself. "Sometimes even before we knew I was Serenity I would see her giving me these looks. Like she expected something from me like I'd do something or say something and then she'd look disappointed when that didn't happen. It has gotten better the longer we've known each other. I don't know maybe I'm reading too much into it…" Usagi said after a moment.

"Do you have the same problem with Setsuna?" Haruka asked after a moment. The way Usagi was speaking it sounded like she had less issues with expectations from the oldest senshi then with her adviser, but she had to be sure. She'd have a talk with the older senshi if she needed to, that was for sure. A talk with Luna was likely in order as well, just as soon as she figured out how to go forward with that.

"It feels different with her. On one hand Setsuna I think has slipped before, but its always felt different with her. Yeah, she knows I inherited the cursed mantle of princess from my past life, how does that even work, but she's spent so much time with me she knows better. Setsuna has never tried to make me Princess Serenity and has never expected me to be anyone but myself, sometimes a better me but never has she ever wanted me to be someone else or fill someone else's shoes." Usagi rambled slightly as she tried to differentiate the difference in what she felt the expectations that she was getting from Luna and Setsuna. Michiru spoke softly. "It wouldn't be surprising if Sestuna had always known."

* * *

 

Eventually, with some reluctance, Usagi had agreed to enlist in the program with assurances Michiru and Haruka would be on standby if anything happened. If nothing else out of sheer curiosity over what was just involved in a princess training program. "So which program are you expressing an interest in?" The woman helping her fill out the forms asked as she typed something into a computer.

"The weekend program." Usagi answered quietly. "I have other after school things to deal with on most of the days during the week. I realistically can't balance this and that."

"You would be surprised how many can." The woman noted not really sparing her a glance. Usagi got the feeling she was being snubbed.

"Most people don't spend the majority of their afternoons with doctors." Usagi muttered under her breath. Between Setsuna and the program for her legs over at Mugen, her weekday afternoons were busy. Plus there was always a possibility of a youma plot pop up on top of that. Usagi didn't have the time to devote to the program during the week.

That got the woman to actually look at her for once giving her a once-over before muttering to herself. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Excuse me?" Usagi said more than a bit indignant at the comment. Something told her with that tone it was far from just an acknowledgment of her noticeable issues. Talking about jumping to conclusions on one's own. If she didn't need to be there she probably would have walked out based on that.

"What background training do you have?" The woman asked deciding to ignore her comment entirely.

Usagi scowled slightly at that but decided to drop it for now. It wasn't important, not in the relative scheme of things at least. "I have some small amount of training, but its been years since I've put it into proper use." More like millennia Usagi left unsaid. No need for the woman to actually have grounds to think she was crazy!

The woman typed in a few more things and hit a button. The printer next to her a piece of paper. "Alright, your in. First class is Friday afternoon at 4. Don't be late." The woman said handing over a piece of paper to her.

Usagi took the offered piece of paper, which had a few instructions on it, along with a place and time. Why did she have a feeling she was going to regret agreeing to do this?

* * *

 

Usagi found herself hanging towards the back of the room they had been told to meet in on the first day. Waiting for whoever was in charge of the program to show up. So far nothing of note had really happened. Most of the other girls enrolled in the program, and they were girls, were around her age. Well at least that would make things a bit less awkward, or so she thought.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little miss legless." Usagi nearly froze at the greeting from the voice behind her. How on Earth had she missed the fact Yuki had been in the program? Usagi questioned herself horrified.

"Yuki." Usagi said trying to keep her tone neutral and desperately hoping it didn't shake with the fear that froze her in place. Usagi wasn't sure even a class on behavior could fix yuki's way of things though she briefly hoped that would be the case, however unlikely it was. One could dream. If they didn't Usagi might end up dropping out, whether Luna liked it or not. "Here for the princess seminar?" Usagi did her best to emulate everything she knew about poise to hide her fear and illustrate confidence.

"Of course. I see you're here to get some much needed class. Not sure if they can really do anything for you." Yuki said sneering at her. Usagi counted backward from ten in her head before replying. "Just because I lack legs doesn't mean I lack class, unlike some other people I know." Usagi said.

"Who are you calling classless you legless whore?" Yuki hissed. Usagi had hit a button with that comment. She had a brief moment of satisfaction for having hit Yuki for once before the cold waters of reality came crashing down on them both.

"What are you two doing?" Someone cut in in while Usagi was still struck by her own quip and its effect on Yuki. Both Usagi and Yuki froze turning to see an older woman with greying brown hair in a black ballroom dress glaring at them. "Petty jabs and insults are not what you are here to learn, and it is not conduct I accept in my class. Do you want to be kicked out before I have had a chance to train either of you?" The woman said glaring daggers at the two of them.

"No ma'am." Usagi and Yuki chorused at the same time.

"Good. I'll be keeping a close eye on the both of you." The woman said uncrossing her arms with a nod. "I better not see you two try and pull a similar stunt."

'If she doesn't pull anything I won't.' Usagi thought to herself. She was tired of letting Yuki run her over. As long as the other girl didn't really try anything she would leave her alone.

"Let this be a first lesson. Apologize. Both of you." The woman said looking between the two of them.

"Sorry." Came the mumbled half-hearted apology from the both of them.

" _Sincerely_." The woman broke in again emphasizing the word.

"Sorry." Usagi went first with a lot of reluctance and while she attempted to mean it, she really did, she also really didn't, and she had a feeling the instructor knew this by the look on her face. Though she had to try and satisfy the teacher she wasn't the least bit sorry and she was sure Yuki wouldn't be either. Really if she hadn't needed to stick the program out…

Yuki looked like she didn't want to follow through either. A quick elbow from one of her friends finally got her talking. "Sorry for calling you a legless whore."

The woman looked between the two for a moment before seeming to give up. "Good enough for now I suppose." She moved to the center of the room so all the attendants could hear and see her. "My name is Countess Rose. I will be the one in charge of helping transform all of you  _hooligans_  over the next three weekends into prim and proper  _ladies_. Let what just happened be a lesson for all of you. Leave whatever petty grievances you have in the outside world. You leave them behind when you walk through those doors. If I catch two of you going at it you will face a punishment. And yes I am not above expelling you even if you have already paid for it in full. If you must argue then you better not sound like a street urchin." The now introduced Countess Rose spoke.

Usagi could barely fight down a grin. Especially seeing how annoyed Yuki looked at the speech. Maybe just this once she had the upper hand over her bully.

* * *

 

After the exchange at the beginning of class, the program had gone surprisingly well for Usagi. Maybe it was her old habits from back on the Moon but Usagi found herself not doing as bad as anticipated. She wasn't the best student, it was still difficult, and some things had changed rather drastically, but the longer she was in it the more she started falling into old habits she didn't even remember having.

Still, considering everything else (Yuki), Usagi thought she was doing fairly well. Despite her initial protests, she was actually kind of enjoying it in a strange way. Then things started to get out of hand…

"Is she really that petty that she's now threatening me over an after-school program?" Usagi asked herself the following Sunday after she had got home. She was checking her email when she had seen someone from the program had emailed her demanding she dropped out of the Princess Seminar. No reason as to why, just saying she should drop out or she would regret it. Then thinking about who was most likely to have emailed her this kind of thing she added. "She's definitely that petty."

"Is everything all right?" Luna asked as she entered the room.

Usagi shut the laptop rather quickly before she could see the email. "Everything's fine!" She really didn't want to admit to the fact Yuki was in the program. Usagi was in, she was committed, and despite Yuki's prescience she wanted to continue.

"Your still as bad at lying as the day I met you." Luna noted letting out an exasperated sigh. She would have thought being Sailor Moon and having to keep secrets would have made Usagi at least slightly better at hiding the truth, especially as her life could very well depend upon it at any given time. Apparently not.

"Thanks." Usagi said choosing to act like it was a compliment and still not answering Luna's inquiry. Luna sighed and seemed to leave it alone. It really wasn't anything to get worked up over. What in the world could Yuki do at this point anyway? Countess Rose had been keeping her in check. The danger of being around her was mitigated around Countess Rose. Sure, there was her own fears that Yuki might pull something beyond comments or veiled threats but for the first time in forever Yuki was in the same room with her and Usagi felt safe, or at least relatively so for the time they were in said room together with Countess Rose.

* * *

 

"They're just emails. Empty threats." Usagi said with a shrug as she sat down for lunch with Naru and Hotaru later that week. Haruka and Michiru had some music related things to take care of so it would be a while before the group was eating lunch together again. Usagi had let slip about the continuing emails from what she suspected was Yuki. "Not sure what it is they could do anyway. All of the emails are really vaguely worded. Only clear thing is they want me out of the program."

Naru visibly hesitated for a moment, clearly thinking about some of what had been let slip before bringing up her suggestion. "What if whoever this is has a copy of that video or knew about it?" She hated to even suggest the idea but she felt it couldn't be ruled out either.

Usagi visibly froze at the suggestion knowing there was only one particular video Naru could really be talking about. "That was deleted." Usagi reminded her trying to laugh off the suggestion, but now that the idea had been planted in her brain and it made her worry. If she was right that Yuki was the one emailing it she wouldn't put it past her to still have a copy.

"What was supposed to have been deleted?" Hotaru asked frowning slightly looking back and forth between the two in confusion.

Usagi hesitated for a moment. Well, Hotaru knew about the incident anyway. "You remember me telling you about the incident I had with the boys back at Juuban?" At Hotaru's nod she continued. "One of them recorded it." She rubbed her arms slightly remembering the video.

Naru took over quietly. "It shows the whole incident." She glanced over at Usagi in concern. "It was making the rounds at Juuban for a while as supposed proof that she actually was a 'legless whore' as Yuki's group liked to call her."

"It was deleted." Usagi finally said. Hating the fact that she had to silently agree with Naru. The idea that the video could surface again couldn't be completely dismissed no matter how much she wanted to.

"Yeah but we're talking the internet here Usagi. I don't know if you can  _really_  delete anything off the internet." Naru gently reminded her. Thinking the video might be gone forever might be too much to hope for. She wanted it gone too for Usagi's sake, but she wouldn't be shocked if the emailer had a copy of it and they seemed to imply they had something, at least by what little Usagi would say about it.

"I can hope." Usagi said after a moment. It might end up being a foolish hope but that was the only way she could deal with it at this point.

"Someone from Juuban is there too?" Hotaru asked looking between the two of them. Seeing that they both didn't seem to really want to name who it was for some reason.

Naru sighed. "Just tell them. Even if you don't say who it is now they'll find out anyway at the very least during the Graduation Ball." Naru had a pretty good idea who it was by some of the things said and she may have asked Umino to help her get ahold of the list of students. Sometimes she wondered at the ease of which he produced such things, but he was a good friend regardless and hadn't hesitated when she confessed her suspicions about who it might be. After he had his worries and that said it even before she'd seen the list. With Yuki on the list, there wasn't really any other possibility. Besides, if all of them were planning on going to the ball the fact Yuki was a part of the program would come to light sooner then probably later. So it was best to let it out now and not later.

"Yuki is in the class." Usagi finally admitted reluctantly, eyeing Naru's less than surprised reaction. Spending extended time with her around was far from her definition of fun. She still tensed up around her and it made doing things in the program a little less than easy. But as long as she didn't try anything she would be okay. She  _had_  to be okay.

"If the others knew we wouldn't even be having this conversation." Hotaru realized. She only knew a fraction of what had happened with Yuki but considering the type of reaction, the name tended to get from the others just in passing. She couldn't see this flying well with anyone who actually knew what Yuki was like even vaguely. "I really should tell the others."

"Please don't." Usagi said after a moment. "I'm already in the program I don't want to drop out. The woman in charge actually yelled at her." Usagi let out an amused snort at that. "Good thing she never saw what Yuki used to do. She would have a fit." She let out a sigh. "I feel like this time something involving her might turn out okay."

* * *

 

Friday night went well surprisingly. Usagi struggled. Even with the little bit of knowledge she had from Princess Serenity, she found the program difficult. Yuki still seemed to be taking Countess Rose's warning and keeping her distance at first. Usagi should have known it wouldn't last. Saturday morning hit and just as they were arranging forks to show they knew the western differences in cutlery for etiquette it began. "I'm surprised all your friends didn't enroll with you. Maybe it would teach some of you yamiran a bit of class."

"Excuse you?" Usagi said the last bit making her pause. It was one thing to call her names, her friends were another matter altogether. She would have thought that by now Yuki would know better than to call anyone in Michiru's family names.

Usagi closed her eyes and counted down from ten. Giving Yuki the satisfaction of reaction to this would not avail her and she didn't want to get kicked out for giving Yuki a well-deserved slap. When she opened her eyes, Yuki was strangely silent for a moment before she seemed ready to speak up. A voice spoke at her left, opposite the side Yuki and her friends sat. A voice whispered. "Look down." Usagi looked down and saw her arrangement had tampered. Ah... so that was what Yuki was going for. She fixed it and looked over to the girl who helped her.

The girl was probably close to Hotaru's age with shoulder length teal hair similar to Michiru's though a bit darker and deep dark blue eyes you could almost mistake for black if you didn't pay attention. All around she was a beautiful girl and also seemed very kind as well.

* * *

 

Later during a break for lunch, the girl sat down by her with her own food. "You two seem to know one another, you and the girl Yuki. Is she always like that?" The other girl asked.

"As long as I have known her. We used to go to school together. We were in the same class for a year and a half." Usagi said after a moment. "Thank you."

The girl shifted slightly uncomfortable. "I just couldn't sit there and do nothing."

"You would be surprised by the number of people that are okay doing that." Usagi confessed after a moment. Thinking back to the times where Yuki had done something and then tried to pin it on her. Naru and Umino had been the only ones that would step to her defense back then. How well it went for Usagi tended to vary.

"She really is a Queen B." The other girl noted frowning slightly.

Usagi agreed as politely as one could with a mouthful of food before finishing her bite and continuing. "I don't think I remember your name?" Honestly, she had been so focused on trying to get through the program she hadn't focused as much on who was who in her classmates yet.

"Misako Kaioh." The girl said giving a smile.

"Kaioh-" Usagi blinked. "Wait are you Michiru's younger sister?" She doubted she could be anyone else, the name wasn't common and the resemblance was too similar. Still best to check before completely jumping to conclusions.

"Yeah. Wait how do you know Michiru?" Misako asked blinking in confusion.

Usagi couldn't help the small laugh in spite of herself. Well, at least she hadn't been the only one to miss the fact they knew someone in common. Her name wasn't the most common either. And if Michiru and Misako did talk like she thought they did then Misako should know her name. "I'm one of Michiru's roommates."

"Usagi…" Misako blinked her dark blue eyes for a moment as she repeated the name she had heard the blonde called earlier. "Wait you're  _that_   _Usagi?_ " Now she felt dumb for not realizing that this was one of her sister's friends. Admittedly Michiru had never given her a real description on Usagi before but it was kind of funny how neither of them had realized they knew someone else. "Gah! I can't believe I missed that. She talks about you and Haruka all the time." Well, maybe not all the time but she certainly seemed to come up quite a bit in conversation.

Misako was funny and the briefly dramatic reaction made Usagi smile. It was adorable and her face hurt from trying not to split into a grin from ear to ear. Misako was the definition of kawaii. "I'm kind of surprised that you're enrolled here. Michiru always gave me the impression she was raised to know this stuff and so was your oldest sister."

"I'm a bit less refined than my sisters." Misako admitted after a moment before grinning like the cat that ate the canary and continuing. "Drives our parents nuts. They sent me here hoping I would pick up some habits. Not sure if it's helped." Misako shrugged slightly at that. "Wait this means I get to see her at the Graduation Ball. Though-" Misako cut off there with a groan. "Mom and Dad are coming. This is going to get awkward."

"I always thought your guys family is more the type to deal with affairs like the tension between your parents and your sister privately." Usagi pointed out frowning slightly. Though regardless it would be awkward. Add it to the list of complicated things they might have to deal with at the ball.

"They are. Won't make it any less awkward. They play all nice but then you know it's all ' _roar_ ' in reality so it's just not any better when you know it's fake." Misako said shaking her head. Her parents wouldn't try and pull anything in a public setting. But there would probably be a  _lot_  of short looks towards Michiru, especially if Haruka was there, and she would be more surprised if her sister's partner  _wasn't_  there.

* * *

 

Usagi blinked in surprise as she walked out of the seminar at the end of the day to spy a familiar yellow sports car waiting for her. She hadn't been expecting any rides today. "Had a couple of errands on this side of town. Figured you would appreciate the ride." Haruka answered the unasked question as she walked up.

"I do." Usagi said giving a slight smile. It was a nice surprise. Though now she was hoping that Yuki had long since taken off.

"Haruka!" Misako said greeting her sister's partner warmly. Popping up almost out of nowhere.

"Misako? I didn't know you were in the program with Usagi." Haruka said glancing between the two in surprise.

"Yeah, we just figured that out today. After a bit of an incident during class." Misako confessed. Usagi cringed at that. Well, there went any hope that she could keep the fact her and Yuki were classmates again. Haruka might not ask right then and there but she would ask probably as soon as they were out of earshot of Misako.

Sure enough she caught a frown going over Haruka's face for a moment before disappearing. "Well its nice to know Usagi has at least one friendly face here. How did you get roped into this anyway?"

"I may or may not have told one of their friends his toupee could be seen from space and they may or may not have decided my honesty warranted this?" Misako said with the biggest widest cutest puppy look on her face she could muster as if it assuaged her guilt of honesty. Not that it ever seemed to stick.

Haruka shook her head with a smile at Misako. "Still good to see you. Do you want to come over to the apartment for a bit and visit for a little while? I could drop you off at home." Haruka offered. The two sisters didn't get to see each other as much as either would have liked.

"I would love to but it's probably not the best idea. Mom wants me home early." Misako said making a face. She would love to have a chance to see Michiru even more. "Tell Michiru I said hi. I'll see you both at the Graduation Ball." She gave a last friendly wave before starting to walk in the direction of the nearby train station.

"So what did she mean by incident?" Haruka asked the moment they had pulled away from the building.

Usagi shifted for a moment thinking about trying to play it off. But then again they would just find out anyway at the Graduation Ball. "Yuki's enrolled in the same program."

"Shit." Haruka swore. "Why didn't you say anything on the first day? What did she do this time?"

"I'm fine. She tried to sabotage an arrangement and Misako warned me so I could fix it. She is very kind." Usagi said after a moment.

"Usagi-" Haruka began in protest. Usagi imagined she was thinking of the store garage incident.

"It was really nothing. She called us all names and I wanted to slap her, so I closed my eyes and counted down and she messed with my stuff then. Misako helped, and nothing happened. I got it right and she failed." Usagi said poking her fingers together in embarrassment.

"So, kittens starting to get some claws then." Haruka managed to lightly tease as they sat stopped at a red light. Usagi flushed slightly at that. "But I didn't do anything-" Haruka interrupted her with a frown. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Countess Rose doesn't allow that sort of thing and deals with it rather seriously. Yuki has been well behaved for the most part because of Countess Rose. It's been quiet." Well, other than the anonymous email but she still didn't have definitive proof that was Yuki. "Up until she decided to call all of us a bunch of yamiran." She rubbed her arms slightly. "It's one thing to insult me, it's another to insult my friends."

"She hasn't tried hurting you though outside of words and switching some silverware?" Haruka said relaxing slightly. Being called a yamiran wasn't exactly a light jab but it was still quite tame for Yuki.

"No." Usagi answered shaking her head. Yuki had been, for once, not testing her bounds. Though if the emails were coming from her she maybe just going the more indirect route.

* * *

 

"Why didn't you tell us Yuki was in the program?" Luna about demanded when she found out about the incident in the program. "We would have pulled you out." As it was they were almost too invested to do so at this point. But that being said Yuki had proven to be too much of a danger to be completely ignored. Civilian or not.

"For that reason." Usagi said throwing her arms up in exasperation. "Up until this morning I had been able to handle her. Countess Rose gave the impression that anything considered 'miscreant' would result in us getting kicked out and apparently she wanted to be in the program enough to actually listen for once. She hadn't tried to pull anything since day one. But this morning's comments got to be too much."

Luna let out a sigh. "Like it or not Usagi you are the princess. And you need to be protected from both threats that are normal and supernatural. No one can do their job if you don't tell us about an active threat."

"Honestly considering how much being around her seems to scare you I'm kind of surprised you're able to handle her right now." Haruka noted raising an eyebrow. Usagi's past experiences had suggested she held some sort of deep fear towards the redhead. She didn't think that was gone so she was a bit surprised Usagi was willing to put up with it.

"She still scares me." Usagi admitted. "But she really hasn't done much outside of throw rude comments recently and that makes her easier to deal with. It's not perfect but she's mostly leaving me alone. She really wants to finish this program." Yuki was actually being culled by someone felt like a miracle and most of her initial worry and hesitation had started to fade on the first night as she had seen that Yuki would listen to Countess Rose. Which was more then what she could say about Yuki and the others that had tried to help her before. "This is different from the previous encounters with her. Me dropping out would only possibly endanger others that may enroll in the program if this is the Dark Kingdom. Speaking of, why pull me out for Yuki but not for the Dark Kingdom?"

"Fine." Luna said giving in with clear hesitation and a stricken face, as if she had no idea how to respond. That last question clearly rattled her, as if she hadn't thought of it herself. She clearly disliked this but Usagi had a point they needed to know if this was a youma plot and if they couldn't pull her out for the dark kingdom then they couldn't pull her out for one civilian girl either. There was a lot more at stake. "However, next time tell us before we get this far into this kind of situation though." Luna took her leave after that.

"Are you guys mad at me too?" Usagi asked a couple of minutes after Luna had left.

"I'm not angry Usagi. If we had known in the beginning, we could have enrolled with you." Michiru said after a moment. She wasn't really angry at Usagi. She just wished they had known. There were more than one ways to deal with Yuki without having to leave the Princess Seminar altogether. Now they were past the point where they could easily step in to make sure Yuki didn't start anything. Well, anything more then what had already happened.

"Oh." Usagi said quietly. That hadn't been something that had occurred to her. She was so used to dealing with Yuki in ultimatums and absolutes. She had never stopped to think about what a safe middle ground might be. "I hadn't thought of that."

"You and Naru pretty much had to handle these things on your own. It's not surprising you sometimes forget we are here to help now too." Haruka said. Like Michiru, she wished Usagi had told them sooner. Or rather been forced to tell them sooner. Too bad she hadn't gone to get Usagi before tonight.

"I'm tired of living my life based on whether she will be somewhere or not." Usagi said. It had gotten better since she had left Juuban of course. No Yuki lurking around every corner meant her reactions were no longer dependent on Yuki. But it still felt like at times what she did was based on her old bully.

* * *

 

Looking back things had been going maybe too well knowing her luck. Yuki was mostly being kept in check by Countess Rose and other than the emails and for a moment Usagi almost swore she saw Naru's mom at the doorway during a senshi meeting that took place at Naru's, so as not to leave her out and alienate her friend, things had been going surprisingly well. So of course, it had to come crashing down on Wednesday evening. With only a few short days left before she graduated from the seminar, Yuki decided to show that she still had some measure of control over her no matter where she went apparently.

It had come in like pretty much every other email Usagi had received so far. An email she still didn't know who belonged to and threatening to make her drop out 'or else' everyone would know what she had supposedly done. That was how she found herself staring in horror at a video of a memory that had haunted her nightmares for months on end and still did on a rare occasion. Sounds of her own voice screaming for them to stop and the voices taunting, of Umino, trying and failing to save her, the yells for Naru or anyone to get someone before he was knocked out and the sounds of the taunts and the slaps and the moment-

Usagi wasn't sure which one of the others stepped in at first. Only noticing them again as Michiru closed the laptop before the video could fully play out its contents. Distracted a moment later as Haruka drew her into a hug from behind. Before turning fully and burying her head into the older girl's chest to only then realize she was crying and just couldn't stop. Usagi knew the internet was supposed to be forever but that hadn't kept her from hoping against hope.

As the initial shock of having to see a part of that video again started to wear off and the tears started to flow heavier. Usagi faintly registered Haruka's hand running through her hair trying to calm her down as Michiru had taken up rubbing circles on her back. And she found herself further trying to further bury her head into Haruka's chest finding something soothing, grounding even, in the older girl's smell. An entirely different smell to her memories of that day.

She knew she was going to have to face the music eventually. The reality of the fact that the others had now seen the video that had haunted her for so long of what had happened at Juuban and its possible repercussions. For the moment she didn't want to think about that or how it might change how they viewed her. Sure, Setsuna hadn't changed when she had finally told her the extent of what had happened that didn't mean the others wouldn't judge her for what happened.

She just wanted to forget this had ever happened. Why couldn't they ever let her just forget?

* * *

 

It took a while for Usagi to calm down from having seen the video. "Feeling better?" Haruka asked once it seemed like Usagi had finally stopped crying. Usagi hadn't really moved other than to bury her face in her chest.

"As well as one can when we're talking about-" Usagi choked out, unable to finish that sentence without another breakdown. She was now emotionally wiped out and torn on what to do with the Princess Seminar. On one hand, if it was a youma plot she couldn't drop out. On the other she didn't want more people to see that video. Especially a bunch of people like the types that were enrolled in the program with her. The only one she felt she could trust with that information was Misako and even that wasn't trust when she stopped to think about it. Just the best of the situation.

"You knew about it?" Michiru asked a bit concerned.

"It was impossible not to know about it. It used to get passed around at Juuban." Usagi finally answered after a moment, feeling rather numb. "I really thought I had seen the last of it…" Usagi trailed off there as she felt like the tears were going to start again. "Will you hate me now?" Usagi said after a moment of silence passed between the group. Truth be told she hadn't been entirely sure what she expected from them as far as reactions went. She had been mainly worried they would be disgusted at her for having this to happen to her. At best maybe sad about the events. But they had both stayed surprisingly calm through the whole thing. Which was what she really did need right now.

Haruka and Michiru exchanged a glance over Usagi's head for a moment. "We've had our suspicions for a while now. We don't hate you Usagi. It's not your fault." Michiru finally said looking back at Usagi.

Usagi frowned at that. That was unexpected, but it did explain a lot and helped her relax somewhat, if they had known for so long and they didn't hate her or look down on her. "How?" Usagi asked.

"The day at the mall." Michiru reminded her. "We realized after you told us everything involving Yuki back in April who that boy probably was and what probably happened." Haruka decided to add. "We figured you'd tell us one day if you were ready. We didn't expect this."

Usagi let out a sigh at that, heart warmed with there consideration, despite the situation she now found herself in. "Thank you." She was grateful for that they had given her time and patience. Though she wasn't entirely sure if this hadn't happened if she would have ever told them. "You really don't care?" Usagi asked some hesitance in her voice. She had wanted to believe that it wouldn't change anything between them and her. But she had never been able to shake the fear that it would bring something about she didn't want. She needed to hear it for sure for them even though she was pretty sure what the answer was at this point.

"I am not sure 'don't care' would be the right way to describe it." Michiru said frowning slightly. Haruka took over. "We  _do_  care that you were hurt in that manner. That someone tried to cover it up and let the boys off. That another someone decided to drag it back up. What it doesn't change is who you are."

* * *

 

The revelation that the video Usagi had told Setsuna about had resurfaced wasn't the biggest shock. They had both known it was a possibility. It was why Usagi had told her about it in the first place. That didn't stop the anger that she had felt the first time from returning. With it the want to erase them from existence despite knowing that she couldn't not without a long line of consequences.

"The video didn't actually show it. But judging by the crude commentary in the background that we could hear and her actively fighting two of the boys as they tried to remove her legs. It's pretty obvious where it was going. However, considering how quickly it cuts off there's probably a second part lurking around somewhere." Michiru said. Her own tone laced with the horror and anger that she had felt when the video had shown up. She had been careful to not let too much of it slip when talking with Usagi. Knowing the younger girl could easily take it the wrong way. But at the moment that wasn't a concern.

"There is more out there." Setsuna quietly confirmed. She knew there was more out there thanks to the talk she had had with Usagi prior. She knew how that video went.

"You knew." Michiru realized frown creasing her face. Well, she guessed on a certain level they had all known for a while. Or at least had a deep suspicion. But it seemed like Setsuna already knew that it had happened somehow. Possibly through her own abilities?

"Usagi first told me when I started compiling the file against Yuki. She only told me then because she was afraid that it would come up. Not because she wanted to." Setsuna answered the horror and anger from before beginning to resurface. She  _still_  wanted to wipe them from existence. No matter the consequences of the actions. Only the ramifications that it could have worse results, in the long run, was what kept her from doing it. If she did she could very well erase  _Usagi_  and everyone else too.

"You seem to be taking this rather calmly." Haruka noted with a frown. Maybe it was just her perspective. But she honestly didn't know if there would be a time she wouldn't feel angry about knowing this had happened to Usagi. The itch to track them all down and make it all look like a very messed up accident crossed her mind. It would be so simple to drive them off the road now wouldn't it...?

"I cannot act as I wish to the same way you cannot do what you are thinking Haruka." Setsuna countered. 'I cannot erase them from existence' she repeated to herself. The only thing that was keeping her was the fact that it might cause the end of the universe, which also meant the end of her princess, the end of Usagi.

"Why can't you?" Haruka asked fists starting to ball again in the anger she felt towards Usagi's situation. Why couldn't those three be simply gone?

"It could end the universe and Usagi in the process." Setsuna explained with a sigh. If she could simply erase people at the drop of a hat without causing long-term effects to possibly the fabric of the universe she would have done it time and time again. And not just with the three boys that had raped Usagi.

"Sorry." Haruka said after a moment tension easing by a slight bit. She should have known that any of them would do anything to stop something from hurting Usagi. Setsuna only wouldn't have stood by if she wasn't allowed to. This was clearly hard on the time senshi.

Setsuna waved off the concern. The anger was warranted and not unexpected to question her on why she wasn't allowed to do something like that. She had known Haruka would show it the most, outside of possibly Makoto if she ever found out about it and when or if ever she did awaken as Jupiter. For now, they had other things to address. "Do we have any idea who's behind sending her the video?" Setsuna said looking between the two. Someone wouldn't just drop the bombshell after all this time she wanted to believe. Someone wanted something from Usagi. Though it was possible they wanted to just make her life miserable.

"The email the video came in specifically mentioned the Princess Seminar, particularly threatening to circulate the video if Usagi didn't drop out." Michiru answered. "Usagi had mentioned the fact that Yuki was in the program with her but since she seemed to be 'behaving' she thought she was safe from Yuki and chose to remain in the program despite our protests. Now, after this, it appears she was only waiting to strike."

Setsuna pinched her nose. She wanted to say this was a shock but considering past behavior there was little capable of being surprised about. "I swear that girl follows her." Setsuna commented to herself more than the other two. First Juuban, then the ball, then the grocery store, and now the Princess Seminar? It seemed like Usagi couldn't escape the girl no matter how hard she tried. She swore if the girl could she probably would have followed Usagi to Mugen Gaken already. As was Michiru and Setsuna were actively attempting to block any attempts at just that. With the multitude of ways to get into the school and her connection with the staff of the school, she wouldn't put it past Yuki to find a way to get into the school anyway. Sometimes this felt like they were only delaying things and not stopping them.

That earned a raised eyebrow from Michiru as a thought occurred to her. "You don't think she's stalking her?" Yuki's perpetuity to show up where Usagi was did seem almost abnormal.

Setsuna frowned for a moment thinking. "No. I don't believe so." Or at least she hoped not. The last thing Usagi needed was a possibly crazy stalker on top of everything else. She was under enough stress without having a normal girl go after her for no apparent reason on top of it all. "What's Usagi want to do about the Princess Seminar and the video?"

"We didn't have a chance to talk about it." Haruka confessed. They had been so focused on other things the reason behind the video being sent to Usagi hadn't come up yet. Though this wasn't a conversation they could exactly delay. Class resumed Friday, it was Wednesday currently. They had to figure out what to do tomorrow. For now, it was best to let Usagi absorb and process for as long as they could afford before discussing further action.

"I see." Setsuna said holding up the thumb drive that contained part of the video they had been talking about. "Let me know if anything changes or what she decides. I am going to see if there's any way this can be traced back to Yuki." Setsuna was on a mission and it showed. She couldn't wipe Yuki from existence but if she had any say Yuki would rue the day she'd ever laid eyes on Usagi. Yuki would  _wish_  to be wiped from existence as much as Sestuna wished she  _could_  if she had anything to say about it.

* * *

 

" _It's been awhile, Luna_ _._ _W_ _e were starting to wonder if something had happened."_ Megara was the one to greet Luna when she came around to the usual meeting place. Glad she had managed to catch one of them at least before they went home. Noticing she seemed a bit tenser than normal. " _Is everything all right?"_

"The last couple of weeks have been trying. I apologize." Luna explained. "Revelations that while not entirely unexpected seem to be coming in faster than can be dealt with recently. Its been a bit hard for all of us." The girls more so than her. She found herself more stressed than anything. Dealing with things that somehow still didn't quite add up and reminders that she needed to remember Usagi was her princess, but she wasn't actually Serenity. She had been Princess Serenity, but she was not Serenity. Luna was trying but it was very hard to remember at times that her princess was not the same she was millennia's past. Then even after supposedly having their memories restored from the Ginzishou the things she thought she knew she didn't. Nothing made sense anymore. Everything she thought she knew was nil and it was a lot for the Mauan to handle. To top it all off there had been the confirmation that had come today that Usagi had actually been raped and had not told them the extent of the attack out of fear. It was all too much for Luna. The anger and horror she had felt when Haruka and Michiru had first told her what they had learned re-surging.

" _The kits did mention she seemed a bit more subdued the last couple of weeks."_ Megara noted remembering some conversation Luna had not been privy to. " _Is everything really_ _alright_ _?"_

"As well as can be expected when dealing with some of the things that have come up the last few weeks." Luna said shaking her head slightly. "How are things going with Yuki?"

" _It's still going on if that's what your concern is._ " Hercules answered coming up and joining the two of them. " _It's getting a bit more difficult and we're having to be a bit more creative in some things,_ _b_ _ut we haven't stopped. Were you thinking of an eventual stopping point_ _?_ _"_

Luna's tail swished in thought for a moment. Part of her wanted this to go on for as long as Usagi had to deal with Yuki but that might be too much to ask of the group. "I am not sure, to be honest. Part of me, especially after some recent revelations tonight, would love for her to understand just how long a year is but that may not be realistic. I don't want to ask that of you for that long and make you feel obligated. This was a favor first and foremost. I appreciate all that you're doing, but I don't want to put you in danger either."

Hercules shook his head. " _This stopped being a true favor when she befriended the kits._ _They hear things and they ask questions. We are aware she is a good person with a kind soul and we are aware this Yuki was truly horrible to her._ _We're continuing to do this of our own choice. I don't know how long the others will stick around for,_ _b_ _ut you will have our assistance as long as you need it._ _Perhaps longer in this matter._ _"_ Though now he was wondering just what Luna had found out earlier that seemed to make her hate this other human even more. If that was possible at this point.

" _I_ _'m guessing these revelations concern that conversation the kits overheard about rape doesn't it?"_ Megara asked realizing before Hercules did what most likely had changed. The only thing that may make Luna hate Yuki and her compatriots even more.

Luna winced at that before after a moment saying. "She still hasn't directly confirmed it from what I understand but going by what the others have said she pretty much came as close to confirming it as we are probably going to get at the moment."

Megara's ears drooped at the confirmation. " _I'm so sorry to hear that."_  They may not be as close to Usagi as Luna and their kits were, but it was still devastating to know what happened.

" _I don't understand why someone would want to hurt a sweet girl like that."_  Hercules said after a brief moment. He guessed sometimes humans didn't need a reason, as sad and horrifying as that was.

"That is something we are still trying to figure out." Luna confessed.

* * *

 

Usagi was still noticeably drained when she showed up at school the next day. Something Naru picked up quickly on having known her for so long. So, first chance she got Naru pulled Usagi over into a quiet spot asking. "What happened?"

Usagi shifted uncomfortably. "The video of the incident got emailed to me last night."

Naru inhaled sharply. "Are you, all right?" It had been close to a year since the incident now. The anniversary would be next week. But that didn't change how much it had and still hurt Usagi in a sense. And judging by her demeanor today drained her having to see the video again.

"Just tired." Usagi said after a moment. "I didn't see all the video this time. Michiru stopped it. They both stayed with me while I tried to calm down."

"I don't think that will ever be easy." Naru said quietly. "I was hoping you were right about it being deleted." Naru said. She had been hoping for Usagi's sake that it was really gone, but there were too many places to hide that kind of stuff. The fact that it had managed to slip by and be stored somewhere wasn't even a shock. Naru wished someone wasn't as petty as to try and blackmail Usagi over this sensitive matter. "How did the others handle it?" She guessed Usagi had already kind of answered that.

"They don't hate me." Usagi said tiredly after a moment. Remembering how she had fallen asleep between the two of them in the couch after the emotional exhaustion from crying and numbness and shutting down after seeing the video. They hadn't needed to stay but it had helped her realize they had been genuine when they said that the video didn't change anything between them. "The video, from what I can tell, didn't contain the whole incident but at this point even if they only saw a part of the video…." Usagi trailed off there letting Naru fill in the blanks.

"It's pretty hard not to realize what was coming next." Naru concluded. Adding after a moment. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them in time." Tears formed in Naru's eyes. She would always feel guilty about not being able to do something, anything from getting the boys to stop hurting her. As it was it had taken what it had felt like an eternity to get someone to take Ms. Haruna seriously and open up the classroom, thus, stopping the whole thing mid incident.

Usagi gave her friends hand a squeeze before thinking better of it and hugging her friend quite suddenly like she couldn't bear to let go. "It's not your fault. I'm just glad they couldn't get to you too. Especially after Umino got hurt trying to stop them." Usagi said shaking her head. There was little doubt in her mind if Naru had managed to be in the room too and not outside of it trying to get in with Ms. Haruna that she too would have ended up injured if not getting raped by the boys as well. She was just grateful Naru had been spared. "How are things going with Jade?" Usagi asked trying to get her mind off the darker topic and onto the green haired girl they had found the other day.

Naru hesitated for a moment but went with the topic switch. "It's difficult. She knows nothing about this time and she obviously misses her parents." Naru answered. To top it off the green haired girl didn't seem quite sure what to do around her. Seeming to be expecting her to act more like her past self than her present day. Naturally this presented difficulties of its own.

"Hmmm…" Usagi said to herself for a moment thinking. It was a bit of a shot in the dark but it might not be the worst idea…

"What are you thinking Usagi?" Naru asked.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to introduce my parents to Jade?" Usagi said throwing her suggestion out there. Seeing Naru's thoughtful look she continued. "My parents know I'm Sailor Moon, they know about Jade. And I know they're feeling lonely since I left the apartment. They have experience dealing with me and she won't have to hide who she is or where she came from. It could be good for her."

Naru agreed after a moment of thought. "I'll pass the idea onto Masato if you'll pass it along to your parents?"

"It's a plan!" Usagi agreed.

* * *

 

When Michiru had mentioned trying to find out who had sent Usagi the video the answer to Setsuna had been obvious, ask Ami. Thankfully the whole incident had started earlier the day before she could get a hold of Ami as she was hoping the girl would be of assistance in confirming the origin of the video. Glad it didn't contain the full incident even if it was probably obvious where it went. She wasn't sure if letting her see all of it was the best idea, not because she didn't think the future Mercury would possibly hold Usagi in lower regard, but because while quiet she would have no less a reaction than the others knowing the people who hurt Usagi walked free. Calm waters only appeared calm on the surface after all. Sometimes they went unfathomably deep. Both Ami and Michiru were textbook examples in different ways and different levels she wagered. "Ami, your good with computers, right?"

"Yes." Ami said looking up from her book for a moment.

"I was hoping you might be able to help me find someone who is attempting to blackmail another friend of mine." Setsuna explained presenting the thumb drive.

Ami looked up at her in surprise for a moment but reached out for the thumb drive none the less. "What is it exactly that she is trying to do?"

"There's a girl I know who is being blackmailed by a former classmate from when she went to Juuban. I was hoping you might be able to track the origin of the video, so we can stop the blackmail." Setsuna explained holding the thumb drive that contained the infamous video.

"Did I know her?" Ami asked curiously. She would do it regardless. People getting blackmailed didn't sit right with her. Regardless of whether or not she actually knew them.

Setsuna shook her head. "No, she left Juuban before you transferred in." It was funny when you thought about it in a way. If Ami had transferred a couple of months sooner or Usagi transferred out later there was a good chance that Mercury would have been part of the senshi group right now. Since Ami and Luna had never crossed paths she had yet to awaken. "I should warn you that contains some fairly sensitive things. She was hurt rather badly." That was putting it mildly, but it wasn't like she could directly say what happened in public like this. "It doesn't show anything graphic, but you'll probably know where it's going none the less."

"Thank you for the warning. I'll make sure to watch it somewhere private." Ami assured her. Well, that wasn't her only concern but that was one thing taken care of. She frowned looking at the thumb drive again for a moment quietly saying. "I wonder if its some of the same people…"

"Are you alright at Juuban?" Setsuna asked switching topics a bit a bit concerned. Ami had always been one of the quieter senshi even back during the Silver Alliance, so it was a concern that one of the bullies that used to pick on Usagi might turn on her. She knew through Usagi Makoto was having some problems with Yuki but not to the same extent. Thankfully Makoto could mainly take care of herself and Yuki seemed to be too scared of her to do too much. Ami, on the other hand, was a different matter and she wasn't entirely sure if the two Inners had interacted much.

"Nothing I can't handle." Ami assured her. Setsuna was not reassured and Ami continued before she could ask anything else. "So, when do you need this by?"

"The sooner the better." Setsuna said deciding to let her drop the subject for now. There were other things to deal with then Usagi's former classmates. "I would prefer to have it back this weekend if physically possible."

"That's quick." Ami said frowning slightly. She could definitely do it, but she was a bit surprised by the timeline. "What's the rush?"

"As I said the video is part of a blackmail attempt to skip the end of the program she is in. If this is too soon though…" Setsuna trailed off there.

Ami shook her head. "No, I can get it done by then I'm pretty sure. Do we know who's trying to blackmail her I might be able to use that to an extent?"

"Yuki Ono." Setsuna answered. Seeing the look that crossed over Ami's face briefly. "Your familiar with her I take it."

"More in passing she's not really done anything at me. Most of the things I've heard about her make my skin crawl, but they are rumors." Ami said shaking her head. Right. Ami's mother being a doctor would have some pull over the administration. Yuki would have been cautious about what she did around her, even if it was in a different vein than her being cautious around Makoto. "What's she planning with it?"

"She just wants Yuki to back off." Setsuna explained shaking her head. That had been the plan from the get-go with the case file if Usagi decided to move forward with it. Admittedly Usagi didn't know about this little venture yet. Speaking of which. "I am going to have to ask you to be discreet with this. Don't mention it to anyone. She's had this come back to haunt her already. All she wants is for Yuki to back off."

"Can't say I blame whoever it is if some of the crazier rumors I heard floating are true." Ami said to herself frowning slightly. "I'll text you as soon as I have it done."

"Thank you, Ami. I'll leave you to your work." Setsuna said officially taking her leave thinking a bit about what she had learned. It was kind of interesting when you thought about the fact Yuki seemed to be mostly going after current or to be senshi. All of the victims that she knew of at least had senshi abilities. Usagi of course and then Ami and Makoto who were the current generation's Mercury and Jupiter. She wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or not but if it wasn't it was odd.

* * *

 

Haruka was on the couch reading over one of their school books when the situation decided to escalate a second time. Usagi was out for the count currently having apparently decided her chest was a comfy pillow, not that Haruka was complaining. Considering how rough the previous evening had been. She couldn't bring herself to move the younger girl. Just judging by how tired she had looked all day it was obvious that Usagi had found the experience draining. Not that it was entirely shocking considering what she had been forced to watch part of and reminded of. It did, however, make for an awkward reading position.

"More video?" Haruka guessed as Michiru reentered the living room. They had both been expecting there to be more than what had been forwarded the night before. When she saw a clearly angry Michiru the answer to what had happened was obvious. There was more to what they had seen the night before.

"I didn't watch more than a few seconds, but it quite clearly shows what happened." Michiru said closing her eyes for a moment sitting down on the opposite end of the couch from the other two. All it had been was a few seconds but to her it had felt almost like an eternity she couldn't even begin to imagine what it had felt like for Usagi. Usagi's cries would be cemented into her brain forever. She could not imagine she'd ever forgetting her terrified plea's crying for them to stop. "It's not just a matter of extreme public humiliation anymore. She's also threatening to tell the boys where Usagi goes to school as well." Michiru added after a moment. One word to Professor Tomoe would be enough to keep them from threatening Usagi on school grounds. That didn't mean they could or wouldn't try to hang around the gates outside of Mugen Gaken or follow her home.

Haruka started swearing at that implication grip tightening around the still sleeping Usagi. Going by the mall incident back in January they both knew what would happen if the boys were let near Usagi alone without one of them to protect her. The boys would try to do to Usagi a second chance what they had done the first time. This had just changed the whole dynamic of the situation. "We have to do something. Even if Usagi gives in to her demands that doesn't mean that Yuki won't tell them where she's going to school now."

"Unfortunately, true." Michiru agreed. If Yuki's behavior in the past was anything to go by Yuki would give the information out to the boys regardless of Usagi's reaction. If it came down to it, the best solution would be to have Usagi come with them to their own programs until the threat seemed to have died down. Then there were the days that Usagi had to go to her own program or see Setsuna. Hotaru could provide protection but considering her petite frame it was a concern that anyone showed up for Usagi might turn on the Hotaru as well. "I wonder if getting Mamiko involved is a good idea." It might be a bit late in the game so to speak but they had been trying to keep it quiet for Usagi's sake. However, the more this escalated the more she was thinking they needed to get someone with more authority involved. This couldn't be allowed to continue and there was only so much they could do on their own.

"Get Mamiko involved with what?" A sleepy voice alerted the other two to the fact Usagi had woken up. "Sorry." Usagi said flushing a bright red as she realized the position she was in sitting up now. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep. That was her first nightmare-free sleep in a while. Something about both older girls seemed to remind her of sweet dreams she forgot existed and could never quite grasp upon waking.

"It's fine kitten. If it had really bothered me I would have moved." Haruka reminded her. As it was Usagi had been sleeping so peacefully the decision to not move had been the easiest.

"Being in the seminar causing sleep problems?" Michiru guessed. If Usagi was stressed enough about being around Yuki and she suspected the girl may have occasional nightmares about Yuki, then it would explain why she seemed so tired the last few days.

"It's not just the seminar. Dealing with all my memories of the Moon Kingdom hasn't been easy." Usagi admitted after a moment. Sure, part of it was definitely the stress of the program and dealing with Yuki while there. But part of it was equally the memories of the Moon Kingdom that continued to haunt her dreams these last few weeks. "Why do we need Mamiko?" Usagi asked switching to the topic she had woken up to.

"The emailer sent the rest of the video." Michiru said watching Usagi's face carefully. Not shocked when she saw the girl pale considerably like ice had touched her down to her soul, knowing what wasn't being said directly. "Usual threat but they are also now threatening to tell the boys where you're going to school now. I was thinking that we might need to get her involved since this is now surpassing something we can control on our own." Michiru added. "There's now a concern that whoever is doing this might tell them even if we give in. Considering one of their behaviors in the past…"

"They might try again." Usagi realized what she was implying. Maybe they had finally lost interest in her but if Aito still had shown interest in her back in January six months after it all had happened then she had doubts it had changed. "I don't know about the other two but with Aito the last time I saw him…"

"I thought we got there before he could actually do anything?" Haruka said looking at the blond in her lap with a frown. All they had seen was him saying something too low for either of them to make out what was actually being said and holding a visibly panicking Usagi. They didn't know what had happened beforehand or what had been said. Not that it mattered in her decision to step in.

"You got there before he could. He said-" Usagi hesitated before steeling herself and continuing. "He said ' _I am going to enjoy your screams as much as I did the first-time little whore and this time I am going to leave you where everyone can see with so much cum dripping out of you that you won't be able to hide from it this time. If you're nice I might even let you live to feel the humiliation._ " Usagi quoted from memory shivering slightly at the memory of the threat noticing Haruka's grip tightening around her waist again. "That's what he said the last time we ran into each other."

"Usagi." Michiru began concern building. "That's more than a rape threat." This should have been brought up before now. He might not have actually said the words 'I'm going to kill you' but he might as well have. What if the two had run into each other when Usagi was alone and they had found her too late?

"I know." Usagi admitted. It had sunk in much later that if he got a second chance than it might be rape and death. "I just don't know what to do. I am scared of them finding me again, but I also feel like I need to finish this. To make sure the Dark Kingdom isn't involved and to save any innocent people like Jade that have been turned youma."

"We'll figure something out kitten." Haruka reassured her. "They won't get close enough to touch you." Even if this turned into a long and complicated affair they would do what was needed to keep Usagi safe. That was something they both agreed on without having to ever ask the other.

* * *

 

The following afternoon across town a clearly distressed Ami showed up at Setsuna's apartment just as she was getting ready to go to the other's place. To figure out how to proceed with the Princess Seminar. She had done as asked. Traced the video back to Yuki. In the process, she had watched it more than she had ever wanted to. If one could bleach, their eyes Ami might even choose lifelong blindness over the horrors she saw within that video.

"I did warn you it was disturbing." Setsuna reminded her handing her a cup of tea as Ami settled in on the living room couch.

"I know." Ami said after a moment running a hand through her bangs. The video cut off before it showed all that had probably happened but considering everything and what she had seen it was highly unlikely it didn't end in the girl being assaulted by the boys. "Did the school know about this?"

"They forced the boys to transfer. So yes." Setsuna answered. More then likely Ami would see Juuban wasn't as great as they tried to make themselves out to be. If she wasn't already doing her own investigation that was based on what she had seen Setsuna would eat her henshin bracelet.

"Transferred but not expelled? Not arrested?" Ami asked face scrunching in confusion. She would think for most schools that would have been an expulsion and with evidence like a video you'd think they would have also involved authorities as well. Even with the current attitudes, this seemed pretty obvious but then again with some of the prevailing attitudes here in Japan towards victims of sexual assault…it wasn't as big of a shock as it should have been either, that they had such things and still chose leniency and to not report it to the police.

"They claimed that there was no way to know for sure what the boy's intentions were at the time. I'm not sure how their intentions couldn't be clearer." Setsuna said after a moment. At the time with Usagi, having hedged just what she had been put through, it wasn't that much of a reach but now knowing the truth and the fact it had circulated the school for months afterward... that meant the admins had to have been aware of what had actually happened and that made the entire situation all the more disturbing.

"Ms. Setsuna." Ami began after thinking for a moment more.

"Yes?" Setsuna asked.

"You once said if I ever felt uncomfortable at Juuban that you would be willing to get me quietly transferred somewhere else that would be a better fit. Does that offer still stand?" Ami asked. She had thought she was okay at Juuban but after the revelations of the last 24 hours…she couldn't stay there. She would explain to her mother later but for now, she needed to start moving in the direction that would get her out of there.

"Of course." Setsuna assured her. Having a feeling she knew where this was going.

"Then I think, I think I want to leave Juuban." Ami said her voice growing in strength as she became more certain of her decision. She couldn't, wouldn't stay at a school that covered up the gang rape of a student. She was not safe. No one, she thought, could possibly be safe at Juuban.

End Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week!
> 
> Before I continue. Happy one year of keeping this story published! I can't believe I've managed to keep going for a year now. Seems insane to think about.
> 
> Quick term definition:
> 
> Yamiran: Japanese for 'slut'. Most likely derived from yaru, to give, and manko, the vagina. Very loosely translated, it's a 'generous pussy.'
> 
> As always please remember to leave a review or a comment. I don't always reply but I do appreciate them and they do make my day. 
> 
> Next chapter will be back to normal Fridays. So 29 will go up on the 7th. So since this was earlier then normal you'll have to wait a bit longer then normal. 
> 
> Anyways preview for chapter 29:
> 
> “Tsukino’s the Moon Princess.” Mamiko said after they had found a quiet private spot to talk, not sounding at all surprised when she repeated the words her sister had just spoken to her mere seconds beforehand. “That feels very obvious when you stop to think about it.” Mamiko mused out loud as if she wasn't quite sure how she had missed that. Sailor Moon was the Moon Princess. That felt like the worlds biggest duh. She let out a sigh. “Why are you telling me this now? You know anything like this I have to report to my higher ups. I can’t exactly keep that part of her identity secret.”
> 
> “That’s actually why I’m telling you.” Michiru said after a moment. “Think about what kind of reaction your higher ups will have knowing that she may or may not be Amaterasu reborn.” 
> 
> “Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun Michiru. Are you trying to say they are the same?” Mamiko seemed unsure of what to think at this suggestion. After a silence she thought that maybe it wasn’t so wild as it would have been last year. “How did people on Earth even view the Moon Kingdom?” She wondered aloud without realizing.
> 
> Michiru answered regardless. “I did not have exposure to Earth in that life Mamiko. Usagi did.” Michiru and Haruka had pretty much zero exposure to Earth in their past lives as far as she could remember. At the silence continuing Michiru decided to continue. “The senshi carry the life of our planets within us. Our senshi power comes from being the star seeds of our planets. Usagi, being the moon princess and Sailor Moon, is in essence the moon herself and the light of this galaxy. You may call that the moon or you may call that the sun, however the sun does not have a star from inside of it and it didn't. The moon did and Usagi is that senshi, the princess and essence of the moon in the form of a girl.”
> 
> Mamiko rubbed her forehead, she could feel a headache coming on. Michiru was right it wasn’t that much of a stretch to go from one to the other. Wait- did this mean her little sister Michiru and her partner Haruka were the hearts of entire planets in the form of girls as well?! This would have seemed absurd months ago, but then again so did the sheer idea of her younger sister running around in a sailor uniform. Aliens and girls with colorful transformations and magical powers!!! Now goddesses! Just when she didn't think it could get anymore strange than it was the crazy to this situation decided to turn things up a notch as if the universe just decided it wasn't aloud to stay where Mamiko knew what to expect, or at least thought she knew. She didn't know anymore. “What do you want to do with this?”
> 
> And that's all for now. See you on the 7th for Chapter 29!


	29. River Styx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey its upload week! Hard to believe its already been two weeks at times. 
> 
> Anyways not much else to say. Enjoy the chapter. Please leave a comment or review.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> On with the chapter!

Chapter 29

River Styx

Usagi had been planning to finish up the Princess Seminar. They had  _ **finally**_ found the sender of the videos. Haruka was planning to tag along to make sure nothing else happened but Usagi felt this was more peace of mind than being necessary. She didn't think Yuki would attempt anything else with the threat of being exposed for having the video in the first place hanging over her head.

That all changed when the final email had hit her account opening up a video as soon as she opened the email. All she could do was watch with growing horror as a girl with long golden blond hair done up in pigtails and blue eyes if only a slightly different shade to Usagi herself, was brought onto the screen bound and gagged and very clearly terrified. Whether the girl had started in pigtails or they had been added, along with the school uniform for Juuban Middle School, Usagi did not know but she had never seen this girl at Juuban and she did not seem to speak any language Usagi had ever heard. The girl had long stopped screaming when she finally breathed her last, her spirit broken long before her broken body finally let her rest in death. There was no mistake death was a release to the girl after the suffering she endured. Someone in the background complained about 'not being able to' get their hands on 'a girl from Juuban Middle school'. The message was bone-chilling in its clarity. Usagi had no doubt more innocent girls would be killed to make this same point if she didn't give in to the demands to drop out of the program. If not her loved ones or herself may befall a similar fate to this girl. Then there was the fact this girl was picked up for her likeness to Usagi... it was her fault this girl died. She couldn't help but feel it was her fault for sharing a likeness to the girl. Surely that is the only reason the girl was to suffer and die like this. At the bottom of the video, two words were written and only two.

_"You're next."_

Would this ever end? Would Yuki never stop?

Usagi vaguely recognized putting her hands in something warm and wet as she managed to push herself to her feet. The world felt far away, and the edges of her vision seemed to fade into a single tunnel down her line of site. She needed to get to the others and she needed to get to them now. Usagi didn't even realize when she'd moved before she was in front of Michiru. Michiru was the one that caught her before she hit the ground. She could hear Michiru asking questions at a rather frantic pace. Asking why she was covered in puke and why she didn't tell them she was sick. She faintly wondered if she should tell them she wasn't sick but then her mouth wouldn't listen to her. Her chest hurt, and she felt like she was falling. Everything became noise, blended together in a cacophony.

Usagi did not realize her grip on Michiru's shirt had tightened. She was lost, her mind was mentally replacing the girl with herself and then Haruka, Michiru, and her mother. Oh goodness, Hotaru and Setsuna as well. Everyone she cared about replaced them in her mind. Even her father and Motoki. Umino and Naru! Anyone could have been in that chair and to someone, that girl was a daughter or a sister. The pain in her chest intensified, burning, and then suddenly blackness took over and absolute silence.

* * *

 The next thing Usagi knew she found herself floating around above her own body. It was unnerving to say the very least to be staring at one's body as it lay limp in Michiru's grasp. She didn't even understand how this was possible.

Had she died? She didn't remember anything like this happening during the earthquake. Usagi watched as Setsuna laid her on the kitchen floor giving some instructions to Michiru before pulling out her own cell phone. As Michiru got to work trying to revive her.

"Hang on." A voice seemed to whisper in her ear for a moment distracting her from the scene below for just a moment. Shingo's voice. Usagi searched for Shingo and was unable to find him despite this niggling feeling she had that he was here. All she could see was herself surrounded by Michiru and Setsuna. And then all she knew was pain before blacking out.

* * *

 Haruka had stepped out to try and find what caused Usagi to stumble into the kitchen in such a state and Setsuna was trying to help Michiru go through the steps of getting Usagi to breathe with her to bring her out of the panic attack when it had happened. Usagi went from shaking like a leaf to completely limp in Michiru's arms in under a second. "Setsuna?" Trying to keep the panic out of her voice and failing. Usagi was too still. Michiru couldn't see Usagi's chest rising, couldn't feel it, why wasn't she breathing? Oh God, she wasn't breathing!

Setsuna was somewhere between green and pale despite her calm demeanor as she leaned forward taking Usagi's limp arm and holding her wrist in her hand, fingertips to her pulse point on her wrist. "Do you know CPR?" Setsuna said pulling out her phone with her other hand, directing the question at Michiru. At Michiru's nod, she continued. "Start CPR. I'm going to call an ambulance."

Michiru felt sick. She could faintly hear Setsuna talking over her cell phone. One, two, three, four, breath. Lips to Usagi's deathly still form to fill her lungs with air. One, two three, four, breath into her to fill her lungs with air. Oh God, why was this happening?! Again, and again. Repeat. One, two, three- Tears were flowing down her cheeks. She needed Usagi to live. 'Come back Usagi!'

"I'll take over." And just like that Michiru was sitting there useless to bringing Usagi back as Setsuna took over. One. Two. Three. Four. Breath. Michiru counted. Each felt like an eternity and so far away from reality. Michiru was numb and drowning all at once.

"You can sense her through the bond correct?" Setsuna said not even looking up. One, two, three, four, breath. One, two, three, four, and breath again. As she came up from another breath into Usagi's lips she spoke as she continued chest compressions. "I need you to share energy into the bond like you would with helping her heal." The hope was that the new energy might trigger a restart Usagi's system, not unlike a defibrillator. One, two, three, four, breath. There was no clue if it would work but they were running out of time. One, two, three, four, breath. They had to try something! Anything to bring her back!

Michiru did as instructed and gave everything she dared, which was quite a lot more than she should have, and she about cried in relief as Usagi took a breath.

Setsuna put her hand over Usagi's mouth, feeling her breath on the back of her hand before sighing with relief. Her weary hands found Usagi's pulse point on her wrist once more and as she could feel the thrum of Usagi's pulse under her fingers she realized she was trembling. Usagi was alive. "She's back."

Michiru collapsed to the floor in a relieved and teary mess, still a bundle of nerves. Setsuna remained with her eyes glued to Usagi and her hand holding her wrist, two fingers on her pulse point and a finger tapping in time as she counted under her breath the beats per minute.

"What happened?" Haruka's voice surprised at the both of them's state. She had felt a pull and responded to send her energy to Usagi and as she stepped into the room, she wanted an answer. Why was Usagi on the floor? Why did Michiru and Setsuna look like they had run a marathon ten times over? What happened here?

"Usagi went into shock and her heart stopped." Setsuna quietly answered, not taking her eyes off Usagi or her hand off her wrist. She really hoped nothing else happened after this. But…it was better to be safe then risk more problems.

Haruka let out a sigh as she ran her hand through her hair both angry and frustrated. She felt so helpless. Silence ensued as the sirens drew closer. Setsuna, eyes still on Usagi asked the question she dreaded. "Did you ever find out what caused all of this?"

Haruka surprised both of them by fishing into one of her pockets and pulling out Usagi's cell phone. "I found this in the other room playing a video." Neither had expected Usagi's cell phone to have anything to do with this but Michiru took it gingerly holding it where Setsuna could see as well as Haruka continued. "I had to turn it off. Phone refused to respond to anything other than a hard shut down no matter what I tried to close the video." Haruka shook her head, there was probably a way out of the loop, but she hadn't been able to figure it out. She spoke up again when she saw Michiru moving to turn it on. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Don't watch it until we're somewhere private." And away from Usagi. She may still be out cold, but she didn't want to risk the girl waking up and it being one of the first things she saw or heard after nearly dying on them.

Michiru frowned and glanced over at Haruka a bit concerned. "Haruka what was the video about?" Haruka wasn't yelling but she could pick up the anger in her tone and the tenseness in her posture. Whatever had been sent was enough to upset her.

Haruka closed her eyes for a moment before answering. "Someone sent Usagi a snuff film of a girl who looked like her and was dressed in Juuban uniform."

Both could almost swear they heard Sestuna utter the words 'I will not erase them from existence' as the lights flickered but neither said anything as a knock sounded on the door. Paramedics had arrived.

* * *

Hotaru knew before even her father came and got her that something had happened. You didn't become senshi of death and rebirth without becoming sensitive to certain things. Like when a close friend and teammate suddenly lingered in limbo between the two things for a few minutes.

The only reassurance Hotaru had at the moment was that the person she shared a senshi bond with was still alive and had pulled out of that limbo. What had happened? Was there a senshi battle they tried to protect her from because of her being the youngest again? Hotaru had been so caught up in what had just happened that at first, she hadn't heard her father arrive.

"Hotaru?" Her father asked eyeing her in concern. Her own reaction to it must have been visible then.

"I'm fine Papa. I just felt something." Hotaru assured him after a moment. Not entirely sure if she should mention that she had felt one of the senshi die for a moment. "Is something wrong?" She already knew the answer to that question, but she had to ask anyway.

"Usagi's in the hospital. She's okay but she's being checked out after giving your friends a scare." He answered after a moment. He had gotten a call from Setsuna informing him of what had happened. "I know where she's at if you want to go see her."

"Yes please." Hotaru agreed. She may know that Usagi was fine on a level. But she really did need to see her.

* * *

The three of them, Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka, were currently waiting in the hospital waiting room for news on Usagi. Hotaru, her father, and Usagi's parents had yet to arrive. "I'll handle the Tsukinos when they arrive." Setsuna said breaking the silence. She was probably the best equipped to handle Usagi's parents on telling them the news of what had caused this.

"Hotaru's on her way." Michiru said after a moment scrolling through her phone messages. Most could be read later. The string of texts from Hotaru had sent over the course of the 'event' suggested she had been panicking also. She had managed to get her mostly calmed down.

The only other noteworthy one was from Mamiko, saying she was on the way to the hospital. How Mamiko knew Usagi was in the hospital before she had been alerted Michiru did not know. She had a couple of theories but nothing concrete for now. Another text was one from Misako asking why Usagi was absent. She would have to tell her what happened later. Usagi wouldn't be returning to the classes this weekend. If ever.

"Hotaru blew up my phone during those few minutes. She was panicking." Michiru pointed out quietly. "Due to her powers, she probably felt it." Setsuna said after thinking for a moment. Hotaru's domain was over death and rebirth. Much like Setsuna would pick up an anomaly in the space-time continuum she wouldn't be surprised if Hotaru could feel when someone she knew was close to death or had died, even if for a moment.

"Someone needs to tell everyone else about what happened." Haruka realized rubbing her forehead. None of them wanted to leave Usagi but among other people needing to know what had happened Luna was chief on the list. Along with Naru and the generals. Usagi would want Naru to know before Luna even and of course her parents had already been called. Someone needed to inform the princess seminar instructor as well.

"We'll have to tell Luna when we go home. The hospital won't let her in as a cat." Michiru said shaking her head. Luna's human form would draw more unwanted attention. Unfortunately, the guardian who probably should be the first to be told about this, after her parents, of course, was going to have to be the last one to find out. "I'll text the generals and Naru." The generals needed to know since pretty much anything senshi related was on hold for the moment. Naru needed to know sooner rather than later and could be a force of nature when she wanted to be. It didn't happen often but Michiru had seen hints of it. It was heartwarming to know she cared about Usagi as much as she clearly did.

Silence lapsed again between the three for a moment. The silence was not to last, however, broken shortly thereafter by the arrival of Usagi's parents. Kenji was the first to speak, clearly having run into the hospital. "What happened? Did some of those Dark Kingdom minions hurt her?"

"I wish this was senshi related. We could just go after the person who hurt her if it was." Haruka commented under her breath while imagining a well-placed Spiral Buster ripping Yuki apart. Youma and possessed people seemed like a walk in the park right now compared to dealing with someone who had threatened to kill Usagi by killing a look alike. Setsuna was the one that explained. "Someone sent a snuff film to Usagi whose 'centerpiece' looked a lot like Usagi."

Kenji paled at that. He had never seen a snuff film himself, but he knew what they were thanks to his line of work. The fact that his daughter had been sent one to scare her was disturbing. Kenji shook his head at Ikuko's questioning look mouthing 'Not here.' He would have to tell her later, but he didn't think explaining what a snuff film was a good idea in such a public setting. "Have you filed a police report?"

"We haven't had a chance. We came here straight from the apartment." Setsuna answered. This couldn't stand but they were unsure of how to proceed. Did they also file a report based on the videos Usagi had received before the snuff film?

"No need to file a report. I'll be handling that. You'll save me time and paperwork to let me handle it." A new voice announced that Mamiko had arrived.

"Mamiko." Michiru greeted.

"You don't want them to file a police report?" Kenji asked her raising an eyebrow.

"No, due to the girl's status within the government Mr. Tanaka wants it to be handled internally. All filing a police report would do now is complicate matters." Mamiko explained. "Whoever threatened your daughter will see justice, Mr. Tsukino. We have higher clearance than the police and this will not stand. Your daughter holds the fate of us all in her hands and this will be taken with utmost seriousness."

Kenji seemed to hesitate for a second more before Ikuko spoke. "Maybe something will actually come of it this time Kenji. Ono Yuki has gotten away with hurting our daughter too often and we've dealt with the police. The police failed our daughter. Let them try."

"Who has the phone?" Mamiko asked as soon as Haruka explained where she had found the snuff film playing until she did a hard crash to the phone in order to turn it off.

Michiru fished out Usagi's phone from where she had stowed it earlier and handed it over as Haruka spoke up "It wouldn't stop. A hard restart got it to start playing the moment power was restored to the phone. I am not as well versed with this as I am with bikes, but I don't think that was by accident. Please don't turn it on here."

"That bad?" Mamiko asked turning her attention to the blonde for a moment. She seemed to be weighing the risks of turning it on and forcing the phone to turn off to stop it, just to see what it was.

"It's rather gruesome." Haruka affirmed rather seriously. Once she had seen it, Usagi's reaction had made a lot of sense. Not that it made the situation any better.

"I'll take it under advisement." Mamiko said.

"Mamiko I need to talk to you about something in  _private_." Michiru said emphasizing the private part before Mamiko could ask here. There were a few things that with the chaos of the last couple of weeks they still hadn't told the government. Considering how this information might change things and how this particular case was handled it needed to be talked about. Turning to the others she said. "Come get us if there are any new updates."

* * *

"Tsukino's the Moon Princess." Mamiko said after they had found a quiet private spot to talk, not sounding at all surprised when she repeated the words her sister had just spoken to her mere seconds beforehand. "That feels very obvious when you stop to think about it." Mamiko mused out loud as if she wasn't quite sure how she had missed that. Sailor Moon was the Moon Princess. That felt like the worlds biggest duh. She let out a sigh. "Why are you telling me this now? You know anything like this I have to report to my higher-ups. I can't exactly keep that part of her identity secret."

"That's actually why I'm telling you." Michiru said after a moment. "Think about what kind of reaction your higher-ups will have knowing that she may or may not be Amaterasu reborn."

"Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun Michiru. Are you trying to say they are the same?" Mamiko seemed unsure of what to think of this suggestion. After a beat of silence, she thought that maybe it wasn't so wild as it would have been last year. "How did people on Earth even view the Moon Kingdom?" She wondered aloud without realizing.

Michiru answered regardless. "I did not have exposure to Earth in that life Mamiko. Usagi did." Michiru and Haruka had pretty much zero exposure to Earth in their past lives as far as she could remember. At the silence continuing Michiru decided to continue. "The senshi carry the life of our planets within us. Our senshi power comes from being the star seeds of our planets. Usagi, being the moon princess and Sailor Moon is, in essence, the moon herself and the light of this galaxy. You may call that the moon or you may call that the sun, however, the sun does not have a star from inside of it and it didn't. The moon did and Usagi is that senshi, the princess and essence of the moon in the form of a girl."

Mamiko rubbed her forehead, she could feel a headache coming on. Michiru was right it wasn't that much of a stretch to go from one to the other. Wait- did this mean her little sister Michiru and her partner Haruka were the hearts of entire planets in the form of girls as well?! This would have seemed absurd months ago, but then again so did the sheer idea of her younger sister running around in a sailor uniform. Aliens and girls with colorful transformations and magical powers! Now goddesses! Just when she didn't think it could get any more strange than it was, the crazy to this situation decided to turn things up a notch as if the universe just decided it wasn't allowed to stay where Mamiko knew what to expect, or at least thought she knew. She didn't know anymore. "What do you want to do with this?"

"Justice." Was Michiru's simple answer. "Every threat she has had against her has been swept under the rug with the exception of the Dark Kingdom." Michiru said. "This isn't the first time she's almost died Mamiko." Though this was the closest she had actually come to dying considering she had no pulse for a couple of minutes. She wasn't sure if the haunting image of Usagi going limp in her arms would ever leave her.

"Knowing her as the reincarnation of Amaterasu would change how anything involving her was handled. There would be no going back Michiru. Do you understand?" Mamiko agreed, she really did, but she needed Michiru to understand the implications and all this could bring with it. Anything involving the senshi would be handled with care even before this, but a reincarnation of a goddess would change things further. Then she paused, with everything she had to process she hadn't caught something before and now something made the frown reappear. "Just how many times has her life been in danger?"

"Three times as a civilian. The count gets higher if you include senshi incidents but considering that's our job..." Michiru trailed off there.

"That becomes a whole other ball game." Mamiko concluded. Ignoring those threats was best for the current moment. Not that they could do anything about that anyway. Backtracking for a moment. "All of the other incidents were swept under the rug?"

"All of them." Michiru confirmed.

"This one I can definitely press forward to make sure it is handled properly. I can't guarantee what will happen with the others but if they believe this, and they may, they may take those more seriously as well. No promises." Mamiko said after a moment. Not that she wasn't going to try, if nothing else she owed Tsukino for technically getting the two of them back on speaking terms. As hard as she had it sometimes dealing with parents and her husband's expectations and her sisters. She did still care for them. "Would either of them have some other public records that I could use?"

"They should. One of them resulted in Usagi having such a severe head injury she was in the hospital for almost a week. The other happened in a garage of a grocery store." Michiru confirmed.

"It's a place to start at least." Mamiko said. That was a bit more hopeful then she had originally been. Actually, the most recent case might end up being the most difficult. They were talking about people who likely knew how to cover their tracks. "Same hospital?"

"Don't know. She really hasn't talked a lot about the other incident." Michiru confessed after a moment. Admittedly from what she understood there wasn't much of a story to be told. "She was living in Juuban with her parents. I would look at the hospitals there first. It was an incident at a school in that area."

"So, unless they felt a specialist was needed, they would have taken her to one of the hospitals around there." Mamiko said seeing where Michiru was going. Maybe she could pull some of her own connections to try and find the appropriate files. "Is that all for now?"

"Only wondering if you have any updates with the case against the boys." Michiru said after a moment of thought. She had met with Mamiko the night before to try and figure out how to proceed with what was going on with Usagi. Particularly the threat to her safety that was being made about leaking her new school to the boys and what had been implied in the past.

"We're looking into it. Running into some blocking by their families though." Mamiko admitted after a moment. The blocking were things that had existed since the whole incident had gone down back when. The least she could do is make sure this didn't get 'lost'. "Them knowing what she possibly is should help move things forward. That being said you know it's too early to really have made much progress on that." It would take a while to get any of this cleared with all the bureaucratic red tape.

"I know." Michiru said after a moment shaking her head. She should have known 24 hours was too soon.

Mamiko waved off the concern. "It's to be expected with what has happened in the last three days. How are you actually dealing?"

Michiru was surprised for a moment by the question. "I was holding her." She answered dodging the question about how she was coping, a question she herself didn't know how to answer. Remembering the sheer terror that had started to form when she realized Usagi had stopped breathing and then Setsuna telling Haruka what had precisely happened. For a few terrifying minutes there she thought they were going to lose her again.

"Anything I can do to maybe help?" Mamiko asked. She felt she owed Tsukino for bringing her sister Michiru back to her, for bringing them back together and getting them talking again.

"Actually, yes possibly. I have a favor to ask while Usagi's still in the hospital." Michiru said.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Haruka asked as Michiru took a seat next to her.

"There were a few things I had to tell her." Michiru said. "Any updates?"

"They came out and got her parents." Haruka asked after a moment. She hoped that if something life-threatening had happened again, they would already know by this point. They just had to wait until they were told they could go back there. But in the meantime, it felt like an eternity. "What were you asking Mamiko?"

"Among other things I wanted to see if one of us could get permission to stay with Usagi after visiting hours are over." Michiru answered after a moment. "To protect her in case any kind of threat that might show up." Natural or supernatural.

"You think they'll target her in the hospital?" Haruka asked concern leaking into her voice, she hadn't really thought about the possibility up until then. In some ways, she would have thought that the hospital would be one of the safer places for Usagi to be at the moment. Now that the thought had been installed in her head it was going to bother her. The reality of what the snuff film had done was starting to really sink in. Usagi was in danger and not just from the Dark Kingdom.

"I fear that the storm brewing is more than we can see Haruka." Michiru said simply raising an eyebrow at Haruka. Sure, the entire reason Usagi had nearly died was because of the shock from the video. But the threats raised in the video still stood. As long as whoever it was had threatened Usagi was out there Usagi was in danger. Then factor in the fact the Dark Kingdom was running around and the danger level was further amplified.

Haruka agreed with a defeated sigh. "I just wish there was some place where we could feel she was actually safe." Every place seemed like it was a threat to Usagi now. Their apartment included after the events of the last two days.

* * *

Usagi was finally coming to again back in her hospital room. What felt like an eternity for everyone else involved maybe only lasting an hour or two actually. The first thing she saw was her Mom. "Mom?" She blinked a couple of times confused. The last thing she remembered was seeing that god awful video and then stumbling her way into the kitchen. And nothing else after that. Something must have happened if she was here of all places, she knew the sterile smell of a hospital a little too well for her liking not to recognize the situation. "What happened?"

"You're in a hospital, Ms. Tsukino. You went into shock. Your friends called an ambulance after you went into cardiac arrest." An unfamiliar female voice cut in. "How are you feeling?" Now that she could actually see the doctor, she saw she was a petite blue-haired woman with the name tag reading Dr. Mizuno on it.

"Tired. I hate hospitals." Usagi muttered to herself. She understood why they had taken her here. It didn't make her any happier about being here. She had seen so much of an inside of a hospital after the Tohoku Quake. Probably more than most people ever did in their entire lives.

"I know you do sweetheart. It's just for a couple of nights." Her Mom said giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Feeling exhaustion after a cardiac event is perfectly normal. It should pass in a few days. The stay is more to make sure there isn't a repeat episode or lasting damage." Dr. Mizuno added kindly.

Usagi frowned backtracking for a moment as she finally caught what the doctor had said. "Wait, my heart stopped?"

"For only a brief moment, however, this is why we need to make sure there is no lasting damage. We need to run a few tests." Dr. Mizuno explained. Usagi froze at that, more tests. She hated tests, she had seen more needles then she would care to recount. The doctor frowned noticing the expression on her face. "Is there a problem Ms. Tsukino?"

"I just had a lot of needless tests run in the past." Usagi admitted after a moment shifting uncomfortably, really not wanting to talk about the previous stays or what they had entailed. The doctors had said they were necessary but sometimes she had wondered. "What kind of test are we talking here?"

"Just an echo-cardiogram. Keeping you is more to make sure there isn't some complication. Unless something dramatic comes up on the ECG you'll be released Sunday morning." Dr. Mizuno said after a moment. "Anything would have to be rather drastic for your stay to be extended." Honestly, she didn't expect anything to come up. The girl was young and other than this episode appeared healthy. There was no reason to suggest a need to keep her for longer than normal.

"It will be fine Usagi." Her Mom said giving her hand a squeeze.

* * *

Usagi was cleared to finally see her friends shortly thereafter. Problems arose quickly as they would only allow two visitors in the room at the same time. All of her senshi and friends wanted to make sure she was okay. Eventually, Hotaru was allowed to go first since it was starting to get late. Loathe she admit it Hotaru was going to have to go home sooner than the rest of them. Naru had won out being able to go with her.

Hotaru wrapped Usagi in a hug at first chance before saying anything. Finding some strange relief in the heart monitoring machine Usagi was hooked up to. The beeping noise would have been annoying and grating normally. After this afternoon it was an additional assurance that Usagi was, for the most part, okay. "Are you all right Hotaru?" Usagi asked after she didn't move for a moment.

"Don't scare us like that ever again." Hotaru managed pulling back slightly after a moment with a touch of reluctance. Rather than answering Usagi's question.

"I'm sorry Hotaru. I'll be alright." Usagi reassured her running her free hand through Hotaru's hair. Honestly, the whole event scared her. She had actually died there for a couple of minutes.

"Hotaru could you give us a minute?" Naru asked after some silence had elapsed between the two. She wanted to talk to Usagi for a moment but by themselves.

"I should probably get going anyway." Hotaru said with some reluctance. By the time the others had finished seeing Usagi, it would be time for visiting hours to be over. "I'll see you tomorrow Usagi."

"See you tomorrow." Usagi said giving the girl a wave as she left. "I'm surprised you wanted her to leave." Usagi said after the door had clicked shut knowing Naru wanted to probably talk about the ever-evolving Yuki situation. Having a feeling she knew what Naru was about to bring up. She trusted Hotaru to keep the others busy for a few moments at least.

"I still don't know how much you've told her." Naru pointed out plopping down in the chair after Hotaru had left. "Or how much she knows about the situation that led to this." She knew Hotaru knew some of it just because she had been present when the others had first informed Naru of the snuff film. So, it was impossible for Hotaru not to know. She just wasn't sure how much she knew and didn't feel it was her place to accidentally or otherwise out Usagi's secrets to tell before Usagi was ready to share them with whomever she so decided to share them with whenever she decided to do so.

"I've told her some bits and pieces. She knows some of the worst. Haruka and Michiru are still the ones who know the most about it after you." Usagi said after going over her own memories for a moment. They had only really ever talked about Yuki a couple of times when Hotaru had been over. She had recently invited Makoto over for when they were kitten-sitting. Figuring the brunette would appreciate some company when she didn't have work. So, they didn't always get to talk about certain stuff.

They sat in silence for a little bit before Usagi seemed to decide to ask something.

Usagi felt she had had so little control over anything and everything that had happened in her life to this point. "When I'm ready you'll be there to help right?"

"Usagi, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried." Naru assured her. With everything that had happened this week it had reached the point where it felt like the girl was out of control. Well more out of control. She wasn't sure if there was ever a point Yuki had ever really been in control at Juuban. After a moment of silence Naru decided to bring up the elephant in the room. "Someone needs to take care of Yuki."

"We don't even know if it was her this time." Usagi pointed out. At this point, they had no clue who it came from. It could be someone else entirely for all the information they had at this point. Sure, they knew where the first two videos had come from. But this past video…there was no way to say for certain it had come from her. And they couldn't exactly go around throwing accusations like that without proof.

Naru's eyebrow shot up in that as she started skeptically saying. "Really? Do you have any other people that might be interested in sending you death threats?" Usagi opened her mouth to answer that question. "Besides the Dark Kingdom. They don't count." If they factored the Dark Kingdom in that list got a lot larger.

"No." Usagi finally admitted. "She's the only one I can think of. Problem is like so many other times…"

"We have no proof." Naru realized what she was saying. She remembered what the others had told her. The video had bricked Usagi's phone. Getting proof of who it came from would be difficult. "Usagi. I'm afraid this could take you. Forget the Dark Kingdom. Yuki could kill you and I'm scared." Naru said after a moment. After now three death threats against her best friend that seemed to be getting worse with each incident. She was worried what might happen if it continued. That she might lose Usagi if this kept up.

"I know you are worried Naru. Setsuna's already on it. She has been collecting stuff on the school and Yuki." Usagi admitted after a moment. As of the moment the only people that knew about the case file were her and the senshi. But with the way Naru was it was best that she be told that it existed and could be an option. "It will be alright." Usagi comforted her friend as she held her in gently to herself sitting up in the hospital bed.

"You going to be all right in here?" Naru asked after a moment of quiet wiping her eyes.

"I'll have to be. Can't really sign myself out of here." Usagi said giving a tight smile. Well, she could but that would probably not make the others happy. "It's just for two days I can live with it." If it got to be more, she might go ahead and sign herself out regardless of what the others might say.

* * *

"Do you really think she's in such danger here?" Kenji asked glancing between the two after they had finished informing them of the plan. That one of them would be staying the night with Usagi to make sure no new dangers presented themselves during the stay. The idea that she might be in some form of danger during her stay didn't sit well with him.

"We hope not Mr. Tsukino." Haruka answered the question. It was going to be a while before any of them relaxed and felt Usagi was really safe without one of them around.

"We'll all sleep better knowing she's protected." Michiru added. Yes, this should be done. If they had to henshin to deal with a Dark Kingdom threat, things could get complicated fast, but they would do it in an instant to protect Usagi.

"I'm not in protest of it. It's just the idea that she might be in danger even here..." Kenji finally explained after a moment. Glancing back at the door to Usagi's room. This should be one of the few places he felt his daughter was safe... and yet somehow it wasn't.

"Even the apartment doesn't feel safe." Haruka said lashing out at a nearby wall in frustration. If nothing else that should be the one place Usagi should  _be_ safe. After the past two days, what felt safe had been turned on its head.

"Haruka." Michiru said taking on a scolding tone at the wall punch. She was just as frustrated at the recent turn of events, but they really couldn't be taking it out on inanimate objects while in public. At this rate perhaps they should obtain a punching bag...?

"I wonder what brought this on in the first place." Kenji pondered to himself for a moment. Sending something like this to anyone seemed almost out of nowhere.

"Usagi was emailed twice before in the last two days with other videos of a certain incident with the boys." Michiru said making sure to keep the comment vague. For Usagi's sake, she didn't want what happened to get out to the public. "We had traced the origin of the video and were in the middle of trying to figure out how to get the original sender to back off." A pained look crossed her face. "Usagi did not want to involve more people and we were respecting her wishes. If we had known..."

"You two wouldn't have had any way to know that the next step would have been  _this_." Kenji said shaking his head. No one could have possibly known. What sick person had someone picked up and killed just so they could threaten his innocent moon bunny with video of her death?! Though this brought up a new realization. Ikuko beat him to it, apparently having realized the same. "So, you know what happened then?"

"You knew she didn't tell us about what actually happened that day?" Michiru said raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Misses Tsukino shook her head. "No but a mother knows when something is wrong. My baby has never been the same and it was different than the quake. She went rigid when her own father hugged her, and she has always been her daddy's little girl. Usagi used to tell him things she wouldn't tell me. They were very close. There was no reason for the change and it wasn't just her father. It was everyone, just I could think of no other experience that would make a fear so deep it made it so even her own father could not hold her without her looking like that." She put a hand to her face to hide her mouth as if it could cover the fact she was desperately trying not to cry for her daughter and her failure not to do so. Her husbands' arms came around him and she hid her face in her husband's chest. Why did this have to happen to Usagi?!

Remembering the horrifying first couple of weeks after they had gotten the phone call from the school informing them of what had happened Kenji picked up for his now silent wife. "Usagi smiles bigger than her heart feels to try and make us happy. I used to carry Usagi on my shoulders. When did she start thinking she needed to carry the world alone?"

"We've learned not to take it personally." Haruka responded with a grim smile. They had come to terms with the fact that Usagi probably would always have some secrets, which, for one reason or another she wouldn't divulge unless absolutely necessary.

* * *

"I'm sorry you're having to sacrifice sleep to make sure I'm okay." Usagi apologized to Michiru. It was a few hours later and everyone else had left leaving just the two of them for the moment. Michiru had taken up her vigil for the night. Haruka would take over in the morning after the start of visiting hours. Setsuna would take evening between Haruka and Michiru. Hopefully, Usagi would be released early Sunday morning. She felt terrible like she was being a burden.

"I would rather not take the chance of not being here." Michiru said after a moment. That was the truth. Knowing Usagi was okay and  _knowing_ were two different things. Even briefly thinking about the earlier day's events brought back some of the terror she had felt when Usagi had gone limp in her arms, a phantom of the feeling she had experienced earlier that afternoon but a strong phantom none the less. Her intuition was going off and she was such an emotional mess she didn't know what it was telling her. Michiru's fear was clouding everything for her and it wasn't pleasant.

"That bad?" Usagi asked, her voice sounding as small as she felt. She felt terrible for worrying them. She had been technically dead for a couple of minutes and Usagi knew she wouldn't have taken it very well if the situation had been reversed. She didn't even want to imagine it. The very thought itself made her feel ill.

Michiru closed her eyes for a moment before answering. "One moment I was holding you and breathing with you and the next Setsuna is telling me you need CPR. It's the closest I've ever seen Setsuna come to panic in either life."

"I'm sorry. I'm alright now and if I could I would be out of this hospital right now." Usagi said hoping that was reassuring but not quite sure if it was.

"How much do you remember?" Michiru asked after a moment.

Usagi thought for a moment before answering. "I remember the video. I remember moving and looking for someone and finding you. I remember thinking about what would happen if it was you, Haruka, Setsuna, Naru, Mom or even Dad or Mr. Tomoe instead of that girl. Wasn't she important to someone too? I felt like I couldn't breathe and I remember my chest hurt and then nothing." Usagi confessed after a moment. She remembered the building panic as she had let her mind go wild for a moment imagining her or the others in that poor girl's place. Usagi refocused herself using all she had learned since the quake to try to not slip down that train of thought again. She couldn't handle the mental picture of her loved ones in the girl's place right now and it made her feel tired inside. Too tired. Why did evil like that exist? How did evil like that exist? In humans? In anyone? She didn't understand how anyone could do something so unspeakable to anyone else. Yet that is what had happened.

"You should sleep." Michiru said after a moment. She wouldn't sleep while she was on guard duty but that didn't mean Usagi should stay up. She needed her rest after the day's events.

"I don't know if I can." Usagi said shaking her head after a moment. Hospitals and doctors' offices were a difficult place for her and the girls screams etched into her skull certainly didn't help matters either. Setsuna's office was maybe the only one she felt remotely comfortable in and that was partly due to her own relationship with Setsuna outside of their appointments. Her comfort level at dealing with the program's office was slowly growing but it was hard to say if she felt she would ever be completely comfortable.

Memories of pokes and prods and the questions that never seemed to end no matter how she answered them after the quake came to the forefront in this place. Finally, being released for home care had been a welcome relief and at the time one of the few bright spots in that first year after the quake. No more questions, no more stares, no more being treated like some strange anomaly for surviving where no one else had. "Felt like the six longest months of my life." Usagi confessed quietly. Well, technically five. She had been out in a coma for the first month of it so while she had some almost weird almost disconnected memories from the first couple of weeks after the quake it wasn't as clear. She heard things through and she could recall some of it. A shiver ran up her spine. She felt like a science experiment more than a patient back then, like she wasn't even human to them anymore.

"Six months seems like a long time." Michiru noted. Especially long if Usagi had only been in a coma for a month. Something wasn't quite adding up. That didn't sound normal for what happened.

"They seemed to want to know how I survived." Usagi admitted after a moment. Adding quietly almost to the point Michiru missed it. "Never understood what was so special about me that they had to keep me there for testing." Seeing a concerned look on Michiru's face for a moment. "It wasn't anything more than the usual poking or prodding. Don't worry."

Michiru frowned at that. That was starting to sound less like standard recovery and like something else had been going on. Knowing Usagi if she asked, she would deny it one way or the other. The only way to maybe find out would be to go around her, possibly to Setsuna who may have the access needed to find out one way or the other.

* * *

"Your back late." Luna noted when Haruka finally went home as the visiting hours ended. "Where are the others?"

"Usagi's been hospitalized." Haruka said seeing the panic on the cat's face at that she quickly added. "She's going to be okay. Michiru's staying overnight with her to make sure no one threatens her."

"What happened?" Luna finally managed. She was almost afraid to know what could have happened. At the same time, she needed to know what had happened to land Usagi there.

"Are you familiar with snuff films?" Haruka asked after a moment. At Luna's negative she elaborated. "Someone made a video where the victim of one looked like her. They even managed to doll the poor girl's hair up in the same style of hair as Usagi's and the Juuban Middle School uniform as well. The girl was killed, and they sent the video to Usagi. They are quite clear they wanted 'a girl from Juuban' and we assume they meant Usagi. Someone sent this video to Usagi with two words. 'You're next.' Usagi didn't handle it well but then I don't know if I would either. She went into shock and her heart stopped."

"Oh Gods." Luna said quietly after a moment. She couldn't decide what part of that she found more horrifying. The fact that the films existed, to begin with, the idea that someone had wanted to use Usagi as a centerpiece, or that Usagi had been sent one. Each was horrifying in their own way. "Usagi-?"

"They're keeping her at the hospital to make sure her heart isn't damaged." Haruka explained, mind going back to the moment Setsuna had told her she had called an ambulance and why. She faintly registered Luna's sharp intake. More preoccupied with her own thoughts for the moment. Haruka thanked every deity out there that Usagi had enough presence of mind to seek them out after she saw the video. God, what would have happened if Usagi hadn't come to them? Would she have been lying dead in her bedroom for hours and they wouldn't have known? She shook her head trying to mentally clear it of the image of a lifeless Usagi. Reminding herself that Usagi was alive if a bit shaken by the incident back at the hospital.

"Do we know whose behind it?" Luna asked finally regaining her voice again. Someone was going to pay for this even if Luna had to do it herself. She was still waiting to hear back from the others on continuing going after Yuki. With this event, she had a feeling some still deciding would take this with fervor. After all, this had gone to the murder of one innocent girl to threaten another and many of them had human families they cared for. Luna thought that perhaps Hercules and Megara especially would care about this happening to Usagi. Especially if Yuki was behind it. Let it never be said there wasn't something to be said for a cat who felt there warnings or displeasure were being ignored.

"No. Considering the last few days I would be more surprised if Yuki isn't behind it though." Haruka confessed. Especially since Yuki had not been above making threats of bodily harm against Usagi in the past. Her mind slipping back to the horrifying moment when Usagi had been pushed over the garage ledge. Fists balling slightly at the reminder. They had come close to losing Usagi twice now.

* * *

The entire area around Sankakusu was awoken a few hours later by the sound of loud banging noise followed quickly by a loud crash in the middle of the night. Michiru frowned getting up and going to the window peeking out behind the curtain to see if there was anything visible that could be responsible for the commotion but from the hospital window, there was nothing easily visible. Michiru frowned down at her phone as it gave off a buzz. A text from Haruka if either of them knew what had caused that. "Michiru?" Usagi's voice drew her away from the text conversation and to the fact that the crash had woken up Usagi. And just after it felt like she had gotten her to sleep. "Sorry if I woke you up." Michiru said going back away from the window to Usagi.

The only way she had found to get Usagi to sleep, even here, had been laying on the edge of the bed to let Usagi lay against her and holding her like that and so naturally her startling had woken Usagi as well. Michiru had gotten into more than one glaring war with a nurse but, as long as she stayed out of their way, they couldn't do much about it.

"The crash woke me up first," Usagi said sleepily rubbing some of her sleep out of her eyes. "What was that?"

"Don't know. Whatever it is we can't see it from here." Michiru said frowning slightly settling back in with Usagi. Whatever it had been was rather large if they went about the amount of noise it admitted. "Haruka and Luna are going out to see if they can find out what happened." Michiru noted after reading the most recent text she had received.

"I hope it's not a Dark Kingdom plot." Usagi said more to herself than to Michiru. 'Or anything supernatural for that matter.' Added silently in Usagi's thoughts. If it was then going by just how loud the volume whatever it was would be pretty dangerous.

"You need to rest. You can worry about these things after." Michiru said trying to get off the topic for now. It could be a Dark Kingdom plot, but it was just as likely it was some random meteorite crashing to Earth. Until they picked up something unusual it might be best to treat it like it was an actual natural event. If it wasn't, going by the size of that crash, then whatever was being implemented could be extremely dangerous.

* * *

The next morning dawned quietly. Haruka arrived earlier than she was supposed to switch out with Michiru by about an hour. She raised an eyebrow in surprise when she saw Michiru had moved from one of the room's chairs and was currently sharing the bed with Usagi who was in what was starting to become a familiar position of her head against Michiru's chest.

"Only way I could get her to sleep." Michiru explained.

"She must really hate hospitals." Haruka noted with a frown. She would have thought the previous day's events would have been more than enough to put Usagi to sleep.

"She spent six months in one after Tohoku." Michiru pointed out. Then there were the comments that Usagi had made about her being treated like some anomaly. Usagi had claimed that nothing other than normal testing had been done but knowing Usagi and her need to even mention that without anything suggested, she doubted that. She needed to talk to Setsuna about this. If anyone would be able to find out what had happened, if anything had happened, it would be Setsuna.

"What are you thinking?" Haruka asked raising an eyebrow. Michiru had gotten awfully quiet for a moment there.

"Just about something Usagi mentioned last night. It may be nothing." Michiru said shaking her head. Deciding not to bring it up with the others for now. If Usagi brought it up, then so be it. But right now, it was best to limit to just Setsuna until they knew if there was something here. Haruka looked at her suspiciously. "Michiru. In all my time of knowing you, I have never known you to worry about nothing." Michiru didn't answer Haruka's question and instead opted for changing the subject. "Did you find out anything to do with that crash last night?"

Haruka shook her head. "Just found a good size meteor crater indent on the pavement a few blocks from here. Reports say no one was hurt. It's possible it was a meteorite someone picked up before I got there." Dark Kingdom plots always revealed themselves for what they were sooner or later so if it was anything to do with one, she doubted it would remain hidden for long.

"I'll check it out later and see if I pick up anything." Michiru decided. She was more sensitive to the type of dark energy that the Dark Kingdom gave off than the others. If there was something to be found she was most likely going to be the one to find it. "I'm going to go home and get some sleep." Michiru said finally moving to disentangle herself from Usagi. "I'll be back in a few hours. Keep an eye on her when they take her for testing." If there was something more then Usagi may accidentally give a tell when she was taken for testing. She would stay herself to see but as tired as she was now, she would probably miss it. She desperately needed to sleep, and she wasn't at all sure if she could or if there would even be time to try.

* * *

_It made a twisted sort of sense that if she was going to dream about anything from her past life right now it would be about an attempt made on Serenity's life during her stay on Neptune._

_It had been a bit surprising at first. Michiru hadn't even been aware that there had been such an event during Serenity's stay on the Moon.  She had no memory even referencing any attempt on Serenity's life outside of the possible start of the rebellion.  Even then that wasn't completely clear since those events were still shrouded in mystery.  Why did any of this happen when all her memories were of a happy kingdom whose people were well cared for? There had to be something she was missing._

_It shouldn't have been that much of a shock in hindsight. While the Outer Rim was safer for Serenity it wasn't perfect and unfortunately no matter how much she and the others tried to minimize the threats, they did exist, even here.  Serenity's benevolence mattered little when she was the princess and daughter of the queen they were rebelling against._

_"Really, this isn't the first time something like this has happened." Serenity grumbled to herself trying to wave off one of the doctor's that was attending her. Michiru could feel her past self's surprise at the comment. Apparently, it was the first time this had happened on Neptune since Serenity's arrival even if it wasn't the first experience Serenity had with an attempt on her life. "It's not like I have more than some scrapes and bruises this time."_

_"You had threats to your life back on the Moon?" Rhode's own shock being reflected in Theia's horrified question. They had always thought that the Moon was a safe place for the royal family, up until the beginning of the rebellion at least. It seemed they kept being shown things on the Moon weren't quite as they thought they were. Serenity's own relationship with her mother was a prime example of that._

_"Only a few times. Mother and her advisers might like to pretend like they never happen, but they do happen." Serenity said with a slight shrug. "The Inners are good at their jobs. They protected me well growing up, but they aren't perfect. Something did slip by on occasion. It was just rare that it did. This wasn't even the worse attempt."_

_"Reni-" Rhode began before deciding to cut herself off. Even if she did want to know what had happened before she still may not get the full details. Her best bet was trying to see if she could find a short moment with Venus to find out what Serenity was referring to if that was even possible with the current state of affairs. Rhode was hoping the worst attempt was in reference to the events that had started out the rebellion. Sighing after a moment. "At least we know to be more on alert for a possible next time."_

_"There won't be a next time." Theia nearly growled. Not if she had any say in it._

_Serenity just shook her head at that with a resigned look before saying. "There's always a next time."_

* * *

Probably the biggest surprise visitor of the night came a little while after Usagi would have normally been out of the princess seminar. Misako had decided to swing by before going home after hearing from Michiru that Usagi was in the hospital. She both wanted to see her sister and hoped to find out what happened to her new, hopefully, friend.

"Shouldn't you be headed home?" Michiru asked frowning slightly after pulling back from the hug. She was happy to see her youngest sister, but she didn't want her getting in trouble with their parents, something that could have larger consequences since Misako was the only remaining sibling that still lived with them at this point and time.

"I'll be fine. Mom and Dad are out at a party at one of their friends' houses tonight. I just have to make sure I'm home before they are." Misako said assuring her. That wouldn't be too difficult. Her parents tended to be gone for several hours when they went to these things. Visiting hours would be done before they would be back home. "I just wanted to say hi since we barely get to see each other anymore and now I won't get to see you at the Graduation Ball." She had been looking forward to seeing Michiru then even if it had maybe turned out a bit awkward with the family there.

"I wish things were different." Michiru agreed after a moment. She wished their conversations weren't limited text at times. Misako was still living with their parents and would continue to be unless something drastic came up seeing and getting actual conversations was still going to be a rare opportunity.

"If only our parents weren't so stupid." Misako grumbled under her breath to herself. She didn't understand why her parents were so dead set against letting Michiru be happy with Haruka. Guess that's what happened when you had a family like theirs. 'Snobs' she thought silently, knowing she could never speak such words or risk being unforgivably disrespectful in their eyes herself. Seeing Michiru about to make a comment she added. "Don't worry, I know better than to say something like that to their faces." There was being honest and then there was being stupid. This would have been stupid to say to them directly. "What happened anyway?" Misako asked changing subjects. Michiru had refused to tell her much over the texts, just saying Usagi was in the hospital and would not be finishing out the program.

"Just a small medical scare that's all." Usagi tried to reassure her downplaying the situation knowing that the situation had been far from 'small' yesterday. Not wanting to tell the full truth on what had happened and why it had happened. The fewer people who knew about what had happened and why she was here at the end of the day. The better. Misako might be Michiru's younger sister, but she still barely knew the girl when compared to the others. She didn't think she would do anything hurtful, but she wanted to keep what had happened the previous day as contained possible. "Nothing to be really worried about."

"Find that hard to believe." Misako said frowning slightly. You didn't usually land in the hospital for a couple of days over a little medical scare last she checked.

"Misako." Michiru said tone slightly scolding. The implied 'don't push this' left unsaid but still heard. Her sister was right but that didn't mean the topic should be pushed. Usagi was clearly a bit uncomfortable with her knowing at this point and Michiru couldn't say she wanted her little sister getting any ideas that might get her into trouble with there parents either.

"Sorry." Misako said looking properly apologetic.

Usagi smiled. "It's okay. Please don't worry and have fun at the graduation ball." Misako seemed very nice, like a very kind person, and she genuinely hoped she outshone everyone at the ball and had the time of her life doing it. She shook her head and continued. "They're just keeping me at this point to make sure nothing else comes of it."

* * *

When Michiru saw Setsuna coming in to take over for Haruka for the evening she pulled her aside. Wanting to get the concern out there as soon as possible. "Medical testing?" Setsuna said frowning slightly. "Are you sure?" She couldn't think of anything off the top of her head that would support this theory, but it was possible she had missed it. She had paid closer attention to things related to Yuki and the quake when working with Usagi, but it never crossed her mind the hospital would be a place something could have happened. Maybe it was time to dig up the older files. Just to make sure.

"Not entirely but I get the feeling we should look into it Setsuna." Michiru stated looking Setsuna dead in the eyes. This would just be adding to a list of things that Usagi had downplayed if it did happen. "Plus, there's the timing. Six months seems like a long time to keep someone in a hospital especially if Usagi was well enough to be attending school by at least September." The timing of when Usagi had started Juuban was more of a guess, but Usagi had mentioned the downward spiral of the things with Yuki had started in November, and they knew she had to deal with Yuki for a year. That left a short time window in which Usagi had to have started school.

Setsuna rubbed her forehead feeling the start of a headache. Tonight was going to be even longer then she had anticipated. "I'll look into it." Setsuna finally agreed. She agreed with Michiru it might be nothing, but the fact remained it needed to be checked and made sure there wasn't something more there that Usagi was hiding from them again. Chronos knew Usagi wouldn't tell them if something happened because that's just who she was. "I don't know if I'll find anything. Even if something did happen these people had absolute control over what went into her medical files and could have covered it up. We may never know. Can you handle that Michiru?" Her only answer was Michiru's grim nod.

She really hoped this didn't add to what felt like an ever-growing list of wrongs done to her princess.

* * *

Usagi's return home on Sunday was marked by a surprise visit by the kittens. Just Hercules' and Megara's brood this time. It was a bit too impromptu to gather the usual group but had been worth getting as many as they had just to see the way Usagi's face lit up when they had come into the living room.

Usagi tended to avoid using her wheelchair unless necessary but this had been one thing they had refused to budge on while she was still recovering, even at home. So instead of them playing around and on her on the floor like normal, they were a couple of them around her in the chair. One had taken up the usual perch between her odangos while another was curled up between her legs. Another one of the kittens whose color was the closest to Hercules of the lot, just a slightly darker blue, had tried to nestle into Michiru's hair much to the amusement of the other two. He had then proceeded to start grooming Michiru, which naturally sent Usagi into a fit of giggles.

" _She's really going to be fine?_ " Megara asked Luna turning her attention away from Usagi and the kits for a moment. The girl looked fine at least but Luna had told them what had happened after the last get together.

"Yes, although that won't change how much this shook all of us." Luna admitted. Usagi would be made to take it easy the next few days and would be back to normal fairly soon but they had closed ranks around her and even in moments like now, were unconsciously positioned to defend or comfort Usagi. It might be a while before things fully calmed down around the apartment. None of them relaxing quite like they once did. For one there was still the concern that Yuki might leak where Usagi was going to school even after formally dropping out of the Princess Seminar. They had no clue who had made the snuff film but that didn't change the danger it presented. It was going to be a tense next few weeks at the very least. "Thanks for bringing them over on such short notice. The last few days have been tough on all of us. Usagi especially."

" _The kits enjoy her company as much as she enjoys theirs._ " Hercules pointed out.

" _How have you been handling it?"_  Megara asked tilting her head slightly.

"Better now that she's home." Luna admitted watching Usagi for a minute. She had to go on second-hand reports from the other two until tonight. She had wanted to sneak in herself and check on Usagi, but she wasn't sure if she would have made it all the way. She could have shifted to human form but that would have drawn unwanted attention from those who may recognize it in association with the Sailor Senshi. Maybe she should try practicing one of her other forms but then again anything other than a human might still cause problems. "I just hope that Yuki stays away." Not that she had a lot of hope on that. Yuki seemed to pop up no matter what they did. At least when they did go back to finish up the case of questionable classes Yuki wouldn't be there to haunt them.

End Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week!
> 
> Not much to really say. As always please remember to leave a review or a comment. I always appreciate them!
> 
> Preview for next week's: 
> 
> “You wanted to talk to me Naru?” Michiru asked as Naru had pulled her off to the side for a moment to talk towards the beginning of the school day. Haruka and Michiru were in the middle of getting ready for a major concert so they were off campus more often then not during lunch. If Naru wanted to talk to them it had to be done early on. Like today. 
> 
> “I'm worried about Usagi. Today’s the anniversary of the incident. Has she said anything?” Naru said after making sure no one else could over hear them. Sure, she was speaking in vague enough terms that no one would know what incident she was talking about. But it was best to be sure none the less. 
> 
> “Incident?” Michiru said frowning for a moment before it clicked. Her eyes closing for a second not entirely surprised. They hadn’t known exactly when it had happened. “No, she didn’t tell us when. I wish she had.” So, they could keep a closer eye on her. It finally did explain Usagi's withdrawn behavior today. Michiru's heart clenched a bit. 
> 
> “You know Usagi.” Naru said with a sad smile. “Doesn’t want to drag anyone down with her problems.” 
> 
> “True.” Michiru agreed with a sigh. It wasn’t a shock that Usagi would try to hide today being the anniversary of the day she was assaulted by the boys Yuki set her up to be attacked by. 
> 
> Chapter 30 goes up on the 21st. See you then!


	30. A Warrior's Revival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyon welcome to chapter 30. Hope everyone is having a good holidays.
> 
> Thanks again to Tsukikageshi for betaing. 
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment at the end of the chapter.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

 Chapter 30

A Warrior's Revival

"My parents finally reached the end of their rope with my abilities. They kicked me out. I didn't know where else to go." Ryo explained to a shocked Setsuna a couple of days after Usagi had been released from the hospital. Setsuna had just gotten back from work when the doorbell had rung and opened it to find the previous crystal holder. She had told him if he ever needed help to contact her. She just hadn't expected his parents to kick out the now apologizing boy.

"Come in." Setsuna said opening the door wide enough to let him in. The apartment she had was more than enough space to accommodate for another. Even if she hadn't thought she would be using most of the space in the near future. "How did you get here?" Ryo's clothes look like they had seen better days. Suggesting he had been traveling for at least a couple of days if not more. A quick bullet train ride wouldn't result in this.

"Hitchhiked." Ryo answered. Setsuna frowned. That could be dangerous even for someone with abilities like theirs. At least he had been able to keep out of danger. "My parents would only let me take a bag full of stuff, almost no money. Said if I'm' _So good at seeing the future I should be able to make enough money to get wherever I end up next_.'"

"I am so sorry Ryo." Setsuna said feeling genuinely sad for the younger boy. They had worked a bit on controlling his abilities when he had been in town the last time, but he still had a long way to go. It obviously had reached some sort of breaking point in the Urawa household. She did wonder what had happened to lead to this point but chose not to press.

"Maybe it's for the best. They never really accepted me for my abilities. Not really anyway." Ryo said with a shrug. Though it was quite clear, he didn't fully believe what he was saying.

"Do you want me to try contacting them after a few days? Maybe after things will have settled down?" Setsuna asked. Maybe after a few days had passed the parents would have calmed down from whatever had set this off. She wasn't sure how to proceed with the situation. She had never been reborn in this time, so Setsuna had never had to deal with trying to control her own powers without training or the rejection quite like this. Her own family, outside of Ryo, were all long dead after all.

"Maybe. I'm not sure if it will make a difference." Ryo admitted with some hesitation. It had seemed so final at the time. All the conversations he could see didn't seem to end well. "As far as I can tell, if I do go back it won't be for awhile."

"You're certain on that?" Setsuna asked figuring he must be seeing something she wasn't. His abilities were more short-range then hers after all.

"Most future conversations don't end pleasantly." Ryo said slightly wincing at what he could see. He hadn't even tried reaching out to them during the trip. Mainly because it always seemed to end up in unanswered phone calls or yelling. Either way nothing pleasant.

"Alright. Your welcome to stay here in the meantime. We can use it to help you get a better handle on your abilities." Setsuna said making a decision. It seemed that Ryo would be staying with her for a while. "We need to enroll you at a school locally."

* * *

"I swear they've gotten more overprotective." Usagi said shaking her head in exasperation. She loved them, but the overprotective streak might prove to be a nuisance whenever the Dark Kingdom reared its head. She could fight, she could protect herself. She was worried that if they were constantly watching her back, they wouldn't watch there own.

"That's not surprising considering what happened Usagi." Naru pointed out. "I would be more surprised if Haruka didn't glare at everything that gets close to you right now. It's kinda cute. And Michiru? You know what they say Usagi, it's always the ones you least expect."

"Naru. Earth to Naru. They could die!" Usagi urgently whispered to Naru with a frown while trying not to be overheard before spotting a somewhat familiar dark green haired head bobbing through the crowd of Mugen students. Usagi hadn't met him more than once or twice, but that looked suspiciously like. "Ryo?" Usagi slipped out without meaning to do so. This was a surprise she didn't think any of them had heard anything from the boy since back when they were still dealing with Zoisite working for the Dark Kingdom.

The boy in question heard her quiet slip and turned. "Hey, Usagi." Ryo greeted her giving her a bit of a smile. She noted it didn't seem to quite reach his eyes. Something was obviously up with him. "Who's your friend?"

Usagi blushed in embarrassment. She had never realized before, but she had clearly forgotten that while Naru knew of Ryo, Ryo had never met Naru. "Ryo this is Naru Osaka, my best friend since we were babies. Naru this is Ryo, he was one of the people helping us look for crystals." Usagi said introducing the two of them while trying to keep things easily vague so that in case they were overheard it could be mistaken for something any normal people their age might do. Usagi turned back to Ryo where he stood waiting patiently for her to come back to herself. "When did you start at Mugen Gaken?" She hadn't heard anything about him coming here.

"I just finished the paperwork yesterday. My parents kicked me out, so Setsuna took me in and is training me now. Guess I can't see everything." Ryo said scratching his head slightly while clearly trying to hide a grimace under a smile. He still didn't understand the decision several days later. They were his parents after all. It had been a rough few weeks, and he still missed home, but he felt welcomed with Setsuna at least.

"I'm sorry Ryo." Usagi said feeling genuinely bad for his situation deciding to explain to what she knew had to be a confused Naru later. The more she thought about it, the more she was glad her parents had handled her powers, as well as they, did. She had no clue what would have happened if her parents had rejected her outright. She couldn't even imagine what Ryo was going through right now and hopefully, she would never have to and yet... that could have easily been her. Usagi couldn't help feeling both bad for Ryo and grateful her parents accepted her and all this strangeness that came with her existence nowadays.

He seemed to swallow something sour before smiling in a bittersweet manner. "Maybe it's for the best. Setsuna can finally train me in controlling my sensitivity, and maybe I won't blurt things out, so my parents might chill." Ryo said with a shrug. Not really believing it. As nice as it was not to have to keep a lid on his abilities anymore when he was at home... it wasn't. He missed them, his parents, and their rejection felt like his heart was being choked within his very chest like it could drown him at any moment. Truthfully, he wanted to go home, but he wasn't sure they would accept him even if he learned to hide his abilities, something he wasn't even sure was possible even with training. "They never really handled my abilities well. I just never realized it was that bad." Ryo confessed with a pang.

There were no words Usagi nor Naru could offer him and so they didn't. Usagi simply hugged him, and Naru simply joined her before Naru clearly found some words. "We gotcha Ryo. They'll come around, and you have friends here in the meantime too." Naru said clearly believing her own words. "That's right." Usagi said with a watery smile, not quite as sure as Naru but hoping, for Ryo's sake, that his family would come around and accept him like her best friend seemed to be so sure.

The bell rung, a warning class, would begin soon, and the moment ended with the three rushing off to get to class.

* * *

"Why weren't you there?" Usagi asked after she had gotten settled into the appointment. She had decided to finally ask Setsuna about one of the things that had been bothering her about the fall. Pluto's presence on the Moon, or rather Pluto's  _lack_ of presence on the moon. Usagi wasn't even sure when the last time she had seen Pluto before the Moon Kingdom had fallen had even been. With the others, she knew when they had fallen and where they had fallen in battle for the most part. Hotaru was the other exception, but considering her power set, she was almost certain she had a good idea what happened to the kind, quiet girl. Setsuna was the only one unaccounted for as far she knew when it had fallen.

"Your mother forbade me from leaving the Time Gates a few cycles prior to the fall. I was trapped at the time gates when the Moon fell." Setsuna finally admitted after some debate on whether this was the best thing to admit to her. She had no clue what Usagi's view on the former Queen was and if she held a rosy view of the queen the truth could backfire spectacularly but... the truth was best even if she must tread lightly with it.

Setsuna feared Usagi held it against her, that she was alive and did nothing to stop the fall. Setsuna needed Usagi to understand that it wasn't just her own duty that had kept her bound at the gates. She realized, she needed Usagi to forgive her for being so helpless despite all the power she wielded. So  _painfully_  helpless. "I needed a direct order from her or Chronos to leave. I'm sorry Usagi. I only know a fragment of what you were put through. The time gates obscured most of the fall from me for my own safety." What she did not say was that she had begged and pleaded and beat at the doors and even tried to destroy their hold on her to leave the gates and reach them, to save them, to intervene in some way, and yet it was all futile. All that power was nothing next to the thing she guarded, nothing to Chronos or the Queen who had trapped her at the gates with her orders and her crystal and her vows tied to the gates themselves. By the time she had finally been able to see properly again Serenity and the others had been long dead. She just remembered hoping that some of the wounds she had spotted on the princess' body had been post-mortem. She remembered once again trying to defy the gates to reach back and save her princess. To have to have lived through that… her poor princess!

"You physically couldn't leave your post." Usagi realized in surprise. Her mother had sealed off the very last way of getting her out alive and trapped a senshi bound to the protection of a kingdom and a princess to another thing she was bound to protect. It seemed beyond cruel to her. Part of Usagi hated to entertain the thought, but she was really starting to wonder if Serenity's mother had wanted her to die that night. "The time gates protected you? Are they alive?"

"In a way yes." Setsuna paused trying to think how best to explain it. There really wasn't an easy way to go about this subject. "At least, if the gates sense something that might harm their guardian it might try to intervene. In its own way, the gates are an entity unto there own and more powerful than the guardian they share power with for there own protection. The day the Moon fell I could barely see anything of the time stream." If she had been able to do so, defying a direct order could have lead to her death from the backlash of power alone that was put behind her vows. For all the power the Pluto Senshi had it came with heavy chains. Sometimes the gates interfered with her abilities because there were multiple pathways that were hard to distinguish and wished to protect her mind, other times because knowing a certainty could be dangerous for her heart or because they knew she would defy her orders. In its own way, the gates protected their protector as much as she protected them, perhaps more in cases like that, even from herself.

"Wow." Usagi muttered to herself. It was hard to imagine a giant set of doors having enough awareness to be able to make things more difficult for their guardian.

"Trust me it was a hard concept to wrap my mind around it when the former Pluto first told me." Setsuna said lightly chuckling at that memory. Usagi was taking it better then she had at first. Then again Usagi was technically older then she had been when she had started training. "How much do you remember of it?" Setsuna broke off her train of thought to ask.

"Of the fall?" Usagi asked to clarify. At Setsuna's nod, she continued. "All of it. From the first moment of the invasion up until Serenity's last breath." Usagi hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I wish I didn't."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Setsuna asked after a moment of silence.

Usagi thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I had a hard enough time talking with Minako and she was with me." She gave Setsuna a weak smile. "I'm sorry." Setsuna was great to talk to about the Tohoku quake. But what had happened on the Moon was a whole other level of traumatizing.

"It's alright." Setsuna assured her. She got where Usagi was coming from. To tell her what had happened that night, she would have to explain certain things in detail. Minako who had been there with her would have more of a grasp on Usagi's memories. To Minako, some things would not need to be explained. "Just remember whenever you are ready if you ever need to talk..." Maybe it was a long time coming to check the Gates to see just what had happened that night. That way when the time came, she knew exactly what had happened so Usagi wouldn't have to explain certain things. She had been avoiding it because it was such a hard time to come back to. That and she wasn't sure the gates would show her, even to this day, what had occurred.

"Thank you." Usagi gave a small smile. She was grateful for Setsuna's patience on certain subjects.

"How did you reach Minako?" Setsuna asked a bit curious. Last, she had checked Luna had been the only one who had had contact with Venus and Artemis.

"Luna thought talking with someone would help me deal with the memory of that night." Usagi admitted. "I wasn't all that into the idea at first, but she said Minako needed help too and it did help to talk to someone who knew what it was like. Wasn't Luna's worst idea I'll admit."

"That's still the Princess Seminar I take it?" Setsuna asked. She knew Usagi had an internal ranking of suggestions Luna had made that went from fantastic to the worst idea on the face of the planet. Admittedly none of them could have predicted just how bad the incident with the Princess Seminar would end up being... but she certainly knew Usagi had considered it among the worst ideas, to begin with.

"Yes." Usagi confirmed. "I don't blame her for bringing it up and suggesting it now. I think I even understand why she did it. I just wish it had all stayed buried where it belonged." Setsuna nodded before asking. "Princess Serenity or the video?"

"Both." Usagi's soft voice almost echoed in the silence of the room at that moment.

* * *

"More new students?" Usagi noted in surprise. Some of her and Naru's classmates were crowding around the new arrivals, twins Seijuro and Natsumi Ginga who had just moved in Naru's class earlier that day. Seemed like there were a lot of new students recently. First Ryo and the twins were now three in there year alone that they knew of recently. She wondered if Mugen usually got so many new students in succession, especially this close to the end of the spring semester. It just seemed a bit odd. She imagined they probably got some and maybe she was overreacting but then again, why so many in there year and class and were there more in other years and classes or was it just them? Guess it would be something she would discover the longer they were here. "I don't remember attracting this much attention when we started off." Noting the red-headed girl, Natsumi seemed to be growing more agitated the larger the group got.

Naru shook her head. "You were afraid, and I think some people realized that. Anyone else was intimidated by Haruka and Michiru." Naru pointed out. Plus, Usagi and her had started at the beginning of a new school year, and that wasn't quite as interesting. The Ginga twins and Ryo had transferred in right before the start of summer break. They were bound to draw more attention.

"Might be." Usagi agreed. Thinking about how her classmates hadn't even really invited her to sit with them until Haruka and Michiru had gotten busy recently with music work and Michiru was worrying about her youngest sister not checking in like they had normally done, and while it was possible her phone had been taken Michiru had been preoccupied a bit with worry for her younger sister. "Natsumi looks like she's going to blow up if this keeps going." Usagi noted frowning slightly seeing the girl was getting increasingly agitated. Her brother seemed to be handling the crowd just fine, even almost feeding on the attention. She was clearly not.

"What are you planning?" Naru asked looking at her friend knowing that face. Usagi wasn't going to leave this alone but then before the quake she had never been one to do so. She had always been very friendly and outgoing before and had always hated to see anyone uncomfortable. The Usagi she knew before still sometimes was there under all she'd been through and sometimes she was like a wounded animal. It seemed like today would be the former.

Usagi spoke out of concern for the new girl. "Maybe we should invite her to sit with us. She looks like she really needs to get away from the crowd." Usagi pointed out. Due to her own problem with crowds at times they had found one of the quiet spots to withdraw to during lunch. Natsumi, judging by the look on her face, probably would appreciate some quiet right about now. The only concern she might have normally would be dealing with Hotaru. She didn't want to bring a new person into there quiet place if she might hurt Hotaru with words or otherwise or simply by making her feel unwelcome. "Did she show any kind of red flags earlier?" Usagi asked after some more thought. Naru would know she was indirectly asking if she had shown any behavior like Yuki.

"She was pretty quiet for our morning classes. She wasn't mean to anyone, but I got the feeling she was uncomfortable being the center of attention, kinda like you Usagi. I get the feeling her brother might not like the attention as much as one might think either but that's just a feeling. Maybe he does it to try and keep them off his sister? I dunno. Just an idea. I mean we don't really know them, do we?" Naru said thinking for a moment.

* * *

"If your here to ask where I'm from then I'll tell you its none of your business." Natsumi just about snapped at Usagi when she came up to her. She had clearly had enough of having to deal with people.

"While I am sure it's interesting, I can understand not wanting to talk about something. It's just my friend and I noticed you didn't like the crowd and I know where to get away from them. I was wondering if you would like to join some friends and I for lunch." Usagi explained.

"Sorry Seijuro has always been the more 'people' person of the two of us." Natsumi said cooling down after a second motioning back to her orange haired brother. "You really know a place I can get away from this?" She gestured at the people around them helplessly. The school seemed so big and had so many students. She found it almost to good to be true that there was anywhere you could relax.

"Yep." Usagi said giving a small smile leading the way to where she knew the others were. She hoped Natsumi and Hotaru would get along well, maybe become friends.

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me Naru?" Michiru asked as Naru had pulled her off to the side for a moment to talk towards the beginning of the school day. Haruka and Michiru were in the middle of getting ready for a major concert so they were off campus more often then not during lunch. If Naru wanted to talk to them it had to be done early on. Like today.

"I'm worried about Usagi. Today's the anniversary of  _the_  incident. Has she said anything? _"_ Naru said after making sure no one else could over hear them. Sure, she was speaking in vague enough terms that no one would know what incident she was talking about. But it was best to be sure none the less.

"Incident?" Michiru said frowning for a moment before it clicked. Her eyes closing for a second not entirely surprised. They hadn't known exactly when it had happened. "No, she didn't tell us when. I wish she had." So, they could keep a closer eye on her. It finally did explain Usagi's withdrawn behavior today. Michiru's heart clenched a bit.

"You know Usagi." Naru said with a sad smile. "Doesn't want to drag anyone down with her problems."

"True." Michiru agreed with a sigh. It wasn't a shock that Usagi would try to hide today being the anniversary of the day she was assaulted by the boys Yuki set her up to be attacked by.

* * *

Usagi had no warning when it happened later that afternoon. She didn't even know where the person had come from. She had been walking to the appointment with Setsuna from school when someone had come up from behind her boxing her ears. Pain and disorientation. Right as her body started to give out hands whaling slightly managed to hit one of the buttons on the communicator to alert them there was a problem. That was the last thing she found herself able to do as whoever it was grabbed her underneath her arms. Within moments, much to her growing terror, Usagi found herself unable to move.

Usagi had managed to hit one of the buttons on her communicator just after he had boxed her in the ears, but she hadn't had time to check who it was. Even the closest of the senshi, Hotaru, was still a good 5 minutes from here. She had no clue who she had called, it could be Haruka and Michiru for all she knew at the moment. By the time they could get here it might already be too late. She could barely move and couldn't seem to scream. How was she going to get out of this? Could she get out of this? No. She was probably dead or gone and dying somewhere else by the time they got here. Her head lolled back as he lifted her up. She was sure the hands felt too large to be a woman's. He had still spoke not a word and was clearly taking her somewhere!

Usagi wasn't sure where Natsumi had come from but a well aimed punch to the guys face released her from his grip and set her crashing to the ground. With how little she could move Usagi managed to roll across the ground putting as much distance between her and the man as possible. Hopefully she wouldn't end up in the street! It took a few moments to realize Natsumi had knocked him out. The moment she realized this she realized she was shaking, and the tears wouldn't seem to stop. What had even just happened?!

Natsumi hadn't exactly understood what was going on at first or if it was something to be concerned about. Each planetary culture had there own customs after all and her Seijuro were still trying to figure out Earths. The shear terror she had spotted in Usagi's eyes had been what spurred her into action into knocking out the man that had some sort of hold on her. Natsumi was grateful that there were some universal constants no matter what you were dealing with, like a hit to where the brain was stored almost always knocked them out. Turning back to Usagi now that she was sure that he wouldn't be bothering them for now she asked. "You okay?" Usagi gave a noticeably shaky nod to the question even as she shook like a leaf and tears trailed down her face. "We should probably call the police."

Usagi shook her head to that before fishing out her cell phone. After the incident with the snuff film it had been agreed that they should all have Mamiko's number in case of emergencies. Considering what had just happened and the distinct feeling she had that it connected back to the snuff film, Mamiko was who they needed to contact, not the police. Or at least not at first. Though there was an issue, Mamiko needed to be reached out as soon as possible but she wouldn't be able to talk. Movement had returned but Usagi still couldn't seem to speak. Natsumi was going to have to explain what she could and then the rest would be filled in later. Pulling up Mamiko's number she held out the cell phone to Natsumi. Natsumi raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You want me to call this person instead?" It seemed like an odd choice to not call the police, but she had a feeling there was a good reason, not that Usagi could tell her that now.

Keeping one eye on Natsumi as she called the number and tried to explain what she had stumbled upon to Mamiko and the other eye on the still unconscious kidnapper. Unfortunately, until her voice returned, she was pretty much useless in explaining, of this she was painfully aware. It was best to let Natsumi explain what she could and then hopefully by the time Mamiko arrived she would be able to talk again.

"Usagi!" Hotaru's call alerted her to the fact that the others were finally starting to arrive. Though it may still be a bit. Hotaru was the closest to her location when this had happened besides Setsuna. Looking at the scene and back to Usagi she asked. "What happened?"

"Someone tried to kidnap her." Natsumi said stepping in, phone conversation done. Seeing Usagi's questioning look. "She said she'll be here in about 20 at most but she's sending someone else whose closer to us to watch until she gets here. So, nothing else happens."

"Kidnap?" Hotaru asked sounding a bit faint even with the higher pitch to her voice. Looking back at the unconscious man wondering if this was the Dark Kingdom related or something else entirely. "You're alright?"

Usagi tried to mouth 'I'm fine.' However only silence came out as her voice still wasn't cooperating. After the events of just the previous weekend the attempted kidnapping scared her. The boys who raped her, the dark kingdom, and the people who did the snuff film were the only people she could think of that might want to hurt her and she doubted a youma could go down in one precise hit. That meant this was likely to have come from whomever had threatened her over the weekend.

"She can't speak right now. Guy probably hit a pressure point." Natsumi speculated. She made a point of trying to read up on obvious weak points of the natives when she arrived somewhere new. Never knew when it might be needed. She couldn't remember everything she had read but she did vaguely remember seeing something about certain hits causing a temporary loss of voice or loss of balance. That would certainly explain Usagi' current situation.

Hotaru frowned for a moment seeming to realize something. "You knocked the guy out?" It wasn't that she didn't think Usagi couldn't though with her frame that might be difficult, but she also didn't seem to be in the best fighting condition. Hotaru worried for what could have happened with Usagi clearly having been taken by surprise and incapacitated so quickly. As Natsumi confirmed that she had done with a nod of her head Hotaru felt a wave of gratitude to the girl. "Thank you." Hotaru said to Natsumi with more sincerity than she knew what to do with and moisture in her eyes. If Natsumi had not helped- She didn't want to think about what could have happened!

Natsumi shrugged a bit embarrassed by the gratitude. "Just doing what's right." He had been harassing Usagi. Usagi had been kind to her and had extended her hand to try and bring her peace. Even if she wasn't sure what to think of earth about now Natsumi knew she didn't want the pigtailed blond to come to harm. A bitter taste in her mouth arose at the thought of allowing someone who had helped her to suffer whatever ill fate this scum had intended to inflict upon the kind girl Usagi. What sort of planet was this? Natsumi had seen it many times and had seen the road this went down. She wondered how long Earth could hold out on its current path. She wondered. Natsumi had seen much but... it never seemed to fail. There wasn't a planet she had been to that had ever really done anything but disappoint her with its denizens. Earth, as far as she had so far seen, was a beautiful planet whose population forsook her in the name of greed. Usagi was the breath of fresh air Natsumi was not quite sure should exist. Perhaps she did not wish this blond bunny to perish. The idea of Usagi coming to harm after her kindness towards herself did indeed leave a rather sour taste in her mouth.

* * *

About 30 minutes later everyone had arrived on the scene. Some of the government officials were dealing with taking the man into custody while what to do with Usagi's situation going forward was something they were trying to sort out. Haruka was sitting on Usagi's right side having wrapped her jacket around the younger girl who still hadn't talked since they had arrived. The paramedics had said the voice loss was temporary and all they needed to do was wait. Setsuna was on Usagi's left and Hotaru was sitting in front of Usagi. After being thoroughly questioned and realizing she couldn't provide much more information Natsumi had been allowed to leave. Michiru was currently talking to Mamiko about how to protect Usagi from a repeat incident. Her eyes periodically slid to Usagi as if to make sure she was still there as she spoke to Mamiko.

Mamiko grumbled and groused as she ran her hands through her hair trying not to show her frustration but failing in her endeavor. Michiru had just told her today was the anniversary of the rape. It made a scary amount of sense to go after Tsukino today of all days and had someone told her the significance of today she would have had a team keeping an eye on her at all times. As it was Mamiko hadn't been made aware there was even a reason to do so and she needed one to justify such a thing to her superiors. Having someone on Usagi all the time just wasn't feasible, no matter what rested on the child's slim shoulders. And wasn't that the kicker.

Usagi was a kid and from what Mamiko could tell, a good kid who loved her parents and threw herself into her school work but who also needed to save the world on top of it. It was a rock and a hard place. Between the snuff film and the rapes... it could be either, but she knew one thing for sure, the poor girl didn't need this. The goddamn world was on her fragile shoulders. Who the hell had told these miserable people where Usagi was and would be? Had they been watching her and Mamiko's team had missed it?! Goddamn it she needed answers! She needed to talk to her team. They were supposed to be keeping an eye on her when they could, but it was one team and a full tail wasn't within there capabilities. They weren't meant to handle this sort of thing. She couldn't even blame them. Regardless they needed to work harder to make up for that and she'd make sure that in the absence of resources they'd do the best damn job they could and would know the stakes while doing it. Several of them had daughters of there own. This attempt alone would motivate them. She would make sure of it. She wished someone had taken what Usagi was seriously. She had no doubt they'd have allotted more to this if they had. Mamiko turned back to her sister wanting to know why she, at least, hadn't told her today held such significance as being the anniversary of the attack.

"I just found out about this earlier today from one of her other friends." Michiru explained shaking her head. "We knew the anniversary was coming, just not the day." She let out a sigh.

"Considering what we are dealing with something like this happening should have occurred to us earlier. That last email was signed 'Your Next'. Add in the anniversary and it makes too much sense. We should have been ready, and we weren't. Usagi almost paid the price." Mamiko said massaging her temples, feeling as if a head ache was coming on from the stress of it all. Then again, the wording in the video had implied that they didn't know where to find Usagi and had been unable to do so. What had changed? Maybe they needed to take a second look at Yuki Ono. "She's going to need more protection than just you four until we have whoever is behind this in custody."

Michiru was clearly frustrated and rattled from this as she wrung her hands through her hair. "Who else can we even trust?"

"I'm assigning a handpicked detail to her until we know whose behind this. If your classmate hadn't interfered…" Mamiko trailed off there. Well the conversation would be a lot different right now and wasn't that a kicker. As much as none of them wanted to think about it their might have been the possibility they would be looking for a corpse right now if the girl, Natsumi, hadn't interfered when she did. Supernatural powers or not. They had finally found the body of the girl from the snuff film earlier this afternoon. That's what she had been doing before the phone call had come through from Natsumi. It hadn't been pretty, and the body wasn't even well hidden. Mamiko wasn't willing to believe anyone could survive what had been done to that poor girl, planetary powers or not.

"I don't even want to think about what would have happened if Natsumi hadn't been there." Michiru frowned glancing back at the rest of the group with a frown. This was a double-edged sword. On the one hand they needed someone to protect Usagi since, loathe any of them wanting to admit it, they couldn't always be there to protect her. On the other hand, that meant more people knowing they were Sailor Senshi since they couldn't exactly have people tailing her without that being known. This naturally presented possible problems on the Dark Kingdom front.

"It's definitely a trade off but it's not a choice Michiru. If that girl is really what you say she is, if any of you are what you say this means, then kami help us if anything happens to any of you. Especially Usagi." Mamiko said. The optimal scenario would have the senshi guard Usagi, but it wasn't the realistic one and they both knew that whether or not they wanted to fully acknowledge it. "In the meantime, maybe, some self-defense classes wouldn't be a bad idea." Mamiko said more to herself after thinking for a moment. With the way things were getting, both inside battle and in civilian life. Some additional protection probably wouldn't hurt. It might even help her sister as well to have some training with hand to hand. At the end of the day, even if she didn't agree with her on many things and understood even less why she insisted upon being with Haruka she did know that she still loved her sister Michiru and didn't wish harm to come to her and she didn't imagine throwing magic would work for every situation. Sooner or later her sister would need to defend herself or one of her friends like a normal person and she'd be damned if not knowing how to punch something would take her sister out.

"That's a good idea." Michiru noted a bit surprised none of them had thought about it before. That's something that could be useful both when dealing with the Dark Kingdom as well as more mundane things. That didn't solve the problem entirely. "It's a good long-term solution."

"That's why she's getting a detail until further notice." Mamiko reminded her. There was no way her boss was going to let Usagi walk around without protection after todays events. Senshi or not there was obviously another layer needed here so no one went walking off with her. Even if her superiors didn't entirely believe what Usagi was or her significance they understood she was at least the only one with the ability, currently, to bring people back from being turned into youma, and that was enough of a reason to make this situation a good enough reason to keep someone on Usagi at all times after this incident. This wasn't going to be the most enjoyable situation for any of them, but it was necessary to protect Usagi. "It will be fine Michiru. We will find who is behind this. Your not exactly alone in this. Let someone else help." Let her sister handle the magical youma things. At least Mamiko could handle this.

* * *

By the time everyone was allowed to go home Usagi was mostly back to normal, if a lot quieter then normal. It was to be expected in a way. Everyone had been a bit subdued in the aftermath of the afternoon's events. Usagi hadn't been the biggest fan of having a detail tagging along but realized they were right. She couldn't go anywhere alone now for her own safety. The other option was taking the others away from things they had to do. Something she refused to do. So, government issued detail it was.

"You should be sleeping kitten." Haruka's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Can't." Usagi whispered shaking her head. Usagi had slipped into the living room hoping the moonlight provide some respite.

Every time she closed her eyes tonight it felt like the same thing. A mishmash of memories of the Moon Kingdom the night it fell, the snuff film, and the rape. Tonight, the moon kingdom seemed to mesh with the present. The screams of that girl haunted every flutter of her eyelids as much as the nightmare of her brother being ripped away from her helpless to stop the tsunami tonight but so did the various horrors that had gone on during the fall in her previous life as Princess Serenity. Where one ended, and one began held no meaning when she closed her eyes. Usagi wasn't sure if she would ever sleep again.

Haruka let out a sigh knowing where it was coming from. She, out of all the senshi besides Usagi had seen the most of the snuff film. Today's events had shaken her possibly the most. Knowing full well what could have happened if the kidnappers had managed to get away with her. The guilt from not being able to protect her resurfaced. "One of us should have been there to stop it from happening at all."

"No. You should be able to do the things you wish to do, not always follow me around." Usagi said shaking her head. They hadn't known that the people behind this had found her or Yuki had possibly leaked the information. They didn't even know if today's events were because of their horrifying fascination or if she had been picked randomly not knowing that she was the girl they had mentioned. They might have targeted her because of her supposed resemblance not knowing she was the student they were talking about. It was unlikely, but it was possible.

"It feels like I should have seen this coming, even if just a small feeling, and yet none of us had any idea." Michiru's voice broke in joining the other two on the couch. Haruka did not seem to share Usagi's surprise at her joining them.

Haruka wondered for a moment if the sleeping problems extended to the entire group. It had been fear inducing for all of them to find out how close Usagi had been to being whisked away and tortured to death, especially when it was confirmed this guy wasn't with the boys but with the people who made the snuff film. With their bonds they should have been able to find her before it got too far, but it didn't change the what had almost happened, and it didn't mean a lot couldn't happen before they did find her. Nobody wanted to test how quickly they could find her in that situation. More than that none of them wanted to think about what could happen in the time between and even if they would find her in time to save her let alone if she would want them to.

"Sort of, it's not just that in my dreams at the moment. The Moon Kingdom, the video, the quake sometimes it all blends together in one horrifying nightmare." Usagi admitted for the first time. Some nights it was just one sometimes she had none though those were rare, and other nights it was a combination of them brought on by fears of what could be or had been. Usagi took a moment to close her eyes and thank anyone listening for a moment that Venus was in another country where she was safe from being picked up by these same people as a possible victim for an apparent resemblance to herself.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Michiru directed at Usagi. Usagi had always been so adamant in wanting to avoid the topic but they were starting to stray onto it anyway. Though that might be the exhaustion.

Usagi shook her head after a moment of thought. It was similar to what had happened with the rape revelation. She would continue to avoid talking about it for as long as possible. She might never talk about it unless it was forced out into the open. So many horrifying things had happened that night, things that were hard to think about let alone speak about. "I'm sorry its probably not fair that I know what happened with you two but won't tell you what happened with me."

"Usagi. Please don't apologize." Michiru said shaking her head slightly. Would it be 'nice' to understand Usagi's situation better? Maybe, but they weren't going to apply pressure for her to really talk about it. Though she had a feeling that eventually they would know. Secrets were hard to keep among the Sailor Senshi. She was caught up in her thoughts for enough of a moment that she hadn't realized that Usagi had finally passed out on her shoulder.

"She's asleep again. You know considering how often this happens maybe we should just make this a formal arrangement." Haruka said half joking half serious. It seemed like this was position the three of them were ending up in a lot lately. It's not like they intended to keep ending up in this situation. Yet here they were yet again. Seeing Michiru's quirked eyebrow. "It was just an idea? I know she doesn't intend to keep doing this, but it seems to be happening a lot lately and it seems the only time she sleeps." And on both of them for that matter.

Michiru sighed with a slight smile at her partners heartwarming consideration. It wasn't the world's worst suggestion she just needed to think on it really it was a bit late to being making these kinds of decisions. Neither of them were in any current condition to be even talking about this right now. They probably all slept best when together for some reason. "I wish I better understood what was in that video."

Haruka's eyes hardened slightly at the reminder of that horrifying video. "You  _really_  don't." Haruka said, her whispering voice seeming to pierce the silence. She hadn't even seen the whole video, the only ones who had that she was aware of were Usagi and Mamiko. Maybe some people that worked under Mamiko. What Haruka had seen…well it wasn't shocking what Usagi's first reaction had been.

Michiru's shoulders sagged. "That bad and now I want to know. I dislike not knowing what bothers you like this." She couldn't really help if she didn't understand what was causing the situation. The conversation with Mamiko earlier she had made it sound like the video was highly disturbing. Just what had been done to that poor girl?

* * *

Usagi wasn't sure when she woke up the first time with her head tucked just under Haruka's chin. She could feel Michiru's head on her shoulder. It seemed it was still the middle of the night. She wasn't even sure when she had fallen asleep originally.

She was briefly debating slinking her way back to her bedroom when Haruka's voice cut into her thoughts. "Stay." Usagi blinked in surprise at the half-asleep command. She wasn't even sure Haruka was awake enough to realize what she had said. She hesitated for a moment but ultimately stayed only shifting slightly to get more comfortable. That had been some of the best sleep she had had since they had found the Ginzishou and with it all the memories of the Moon Kingdom had come flooding back. And somehow, she knew the reason went back to the older girls. If they were willing to let her stay and not go back to bed, she wasn't going to question it. She was back to sleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

It was a couple of days after Ryo joined Mugen that trouble had started to rear its head. Thankfully for one reason or another Setsuna was still up. She was used to Ryo sometimes coming in randomly to talk about things, training with time sensitivity meant sometimes you saw things that you weren't quite ready or never wanted to see. She was almost certain Ryo had been aware of the fact he was going to get kicked out before it happened. Part of the whole experience was being an open ear for him along with training him in dealing with the ability. Still it was concerning when Ryo walked in saying. "Setsuna we got a problem."

"Problem in something to deal with school or problem as in something more sinister?" Setsuna asked. It could be either though she had a feeling if he was bringing it up right at this time of night it was more the later then the former.

"The Dark Kingdom is going after the rainbow crystal holders." Ryo explained.

"Why would they-" Setsuna began before breaking off. "They're trying to get the Great Warrior Youma." Why they hadn't tried taking them the first time was still something that was beyond her. She was grateful they hadn't gotten their hands on Ryo at the time regardless but... why now and not then?

"Yes." Ryo confirmed.

"How long do you think we have?" Setsuna asked frowning slightly. She could probably check herself to be honest, but Ryo needed to get better control of his abilities. So, this was one way to do a training exercise.

"Sorry I can't tell the time line. I can tell its coming and coming soon but other than that…" Ryo trailed off there.

"You can't tell much else." Setsuna said with a sigh. She was familiar with this frustration. Sometimes time was a fickle thing. "It's late. We'll contact the others in the morning." This would at least give them time to pull Zoisite for a moment to see what he knew. Meeting now would make that impossible.

* * *

"Can he and the others even be turned back into youma now that Usagi's purified them?" Haruka asked turning to Luna in question. Current topic of discussion, Usagi, was trying to wrap their head around what appeared to be the Dark Kingdom's plot. At least for once it didn't seem to involve the Dark Kingdom trying to identify Usagi as Serenity. Or at least not on a surface level.

Luna sighed. "I'm not sure. With Usagi having removed the rainbow crystals in yours and a few other cases in theory you shouldn't be able to revert back to the Great Warrior Youma form." This didn't make much sense but then again it seemed like everything else surrounding what they thought they had understood involving the Dark Kingdom. "Involving the others, she healed after they transformed might be more possible."

"Is it possible I'm seeing another time line?" Ryo asked Setsuna. This seemed so out there that he wouldn't have been shocked at this point.

Setsuna frowned slightly at that. "Unlikely." As far as she knew Ryo had only been ever able to see the timeline, he lived in. So, this would be new development if that was the case. She was going to have to investigate that later tonight. This was not something she could properly check on Earth. A trip to the Time Gates was in order.

Luna turned her attention to Ryo mind going back to the recent developments they had been faced with concerning the youma of the Dark Kingdom. "Your positive you weren't Terran in your previous life?"

"No more Terran than I." Setsuna said cutting in before Ryo could answer.

"Sorry. I know that you said not all the Great Warrior Youma were Terran. Its just in light of some recent developments I felt it was best to check." Luna placated. It sounded silly when you started to think about it. With everything else that had gotten turned on its head in the last few weeks she felt safer had to ask. "We recently found out there were several members of one of the minor Terran courts that were somehow turned into youma. We've been trying to track down whose originally from the Dark Kingdom and who became a youma. It's been a difficult task so far. Only found two."

"Members of a Terran court?" Setsuna asked in surprise. Briefly wondering which court, they were talking about.

"When I healed one of the youma after a fight recently instead of it reverting to the woman who had overseen the head of the hair salon it changed back into a young girl named Jade. Masato said she was a member of Naru's past self, Ruby's, court." Usagi added quietly. "We haven't had a chance to find others.

Setsuna inhaled sharply. That was unexpected. Sure, the Great Warrior Youma had all originally been non youma at some point. This suggested there was a far larger group then she had realized that hadn't been youma to begin with. Luna looked up at her. "Were you aware of the fact this had happened?" It was not often something surprised Setsuna and she wasn't a fan of this rather nasty surprise, not that it was the others fault. Something about this held implications even she did not wish to consider, which could possibly be part of some things the gates had prevented her from seeing. The gates had not allowed her to see that her brother had become a Youma or how that had happened either. It was quite possible there was much more she hadn't seen from her place at the Time Gates. "No, I wasn't aware of what had happened to them." Setsuna said. She hadn't even been aware her own brother had become one let alone members of Terran courts.

They along with Beryl had just disappeared one day shortly after Ruby's death. The next time she had 'seen' Beryl was on the Moon during the invasion. She hadn't heard anything about Beryl or Ruby's courts until now. "Do we know how many or how to find them?"

"We're not sure." Usagi admitted. "Zoisite's looking, but he says there hasn't been any real indicators so far to make possible human turned youma stand out."

"How are you all handling this?" Setsuna asked after a moment. She knew Usagi probably was handling it the worst. Considering it had shaken herself to an extent. She couldn't imagine the other Outers were handling it very well either. Just better at hiding it.

"Not well. None of us are really." Haruka added. "We thought we had a handle on what the enemy was or wasn't. This threw that out the window. Jade is a  _child_  Setsuna. A little girl. We could have  _killed_  her destroying the youma she had been turned into instead of healing her. It was a miracle Usagi healed her on accident. We may never have known.  _A child_." Yes. Definitely bothered by this and hiding it. A pain gripped her heart. Her brother hadn't been grown when the fall happened either. To her at least, he had been a child as well. Someone's child, someones sibling. Not truly given a chance to live before being weaponized and dying terribly.

* * *

_At first when the dream had started Usagi had almost been relieved._ _S_ _he wasn't reliving Serenity's death._ _At this point she had been trapped reliving that for far too long now. The black throne was a curious thing though, one she hadn't seen before as Serenity stood_ _in some corner watching her mother talked to another two women_ _rather heatedly_ _. Arguing was the better word she decided._ _The Queen was arguing rather avidly with two other rather important looking women._

_A long blond-haired woman was the one speaking now. She reminded Usagi of Minako vaguely based on what she had seen during their one video call. Maybe this was Minako's, or rather Harmonia's, mother in her past life? She didn't recognize the other woman, but she seemed important to. Funny enough the dark blue hair made her think of the doctor she had had back at the hospital after she had the shock incident. Maybe there was a connection there?_

" _Forcing them apart will only hurt them in the long run and will destroy the very thing you are trying to preserve." Minako's mother insisted. "You said you wanted to make sure the Silver Millennium lasts forever. Your actions involving ours and your daughter speak_ _for_ _a very different idea. Leave them be." Usagi found her past self shared in her confusion on the comment about them and their daughters. Just what had the Queen had done to bring about this conversation?_

" _Enough!" Her mother said cutting in before either of the other two could continue with the conversation. Her eyes seeming to flash gold for a moment. And the locket that hung from a chain around her neck glowed for a moment in tangent. "I've already made my decision and it is final. Serenity will be best with Endymion_ _,_ _not those tw_ _o and_ _your daughters are best suited for Endymion's generals. It will all work out. I am sure of it."_

" _Understood my Queen." The two women said before taking a bow and leaving. Usagi found it a bit startling how quickly the argument had stopped, though Serenity seemed to have almost a ressignment to the issue that suggested at least some familiarity with it. Like this had been far from the first time or probably the last the Queen had done something in this manner._

 _There was silence for just a moment. "I know your_ _watching_ _daughter." Her mother called out to her once the room was empty._

 _The princess reluctantly leaving her viewing place. She knew better to stay when she was called out. "What was that about mother?" She really didn't expect much of an answer. Her mother probably hadn't even meant for her to see that._ _She_ _wondered just what Queen Aphrodite had meant. She had been talking about Serenity, that she was sure._ _N_ _one of her comments had made much sense to the princess. Her mother forcing them apart would cause their downfall? Who was her mother forcing her away from?_ _W_ _hy was it so important? Why did it feel like she was forgetting something extremely important to herself?_

" _It was nothing Serenity. Sometimes you just need to show a bit of power to get others to understand." Her Mother said waving off the concern. Serenity frowned slightly at that. That had seemed like more than just a bit of power,_ _but she_ _kept quiet for the moment. Her opinions probably wouldn't go over well._

Usagi woke up a moment later drenched in sweat. Unnerved and confused by this most recent memory. She hadn't had anything quite like this one before. But then again it had been a while since she had dreamed of something new involving Serenity.

Most of the dreams about the Moon Kingdom had stopped, with one notable exception, once she had gained the crystal. The timing on this showing up in her dreams now and not prior had to be important even if she didn't understand why just yet, like so much else when it came to the Moon Kingdom at times, what it had shown unnerved her.

"Usagi?" Luna asked looking at her in concern as Usagi laid awake starring at her ceiling, only just now remembering Luna was present in the room. She shook her head deciding not to talk about this memory. "It's nothing Luna." The cat gave her a doubtful look before curling up and going back to sleep.

That had been a lie, albeit a necessary one Usagi knew. The ideas suggested in this memory were darker then she had thought possible from the Moon Queen. A shiver ran down Usagi's spine. The power to make other's wills bend to her own as suggested by just how quickly the other two Queens had dropped the argument without protest. That kind of power scared her. She hadn't ever used it before and she never would, it wasn't in Usagi's nature to bend others like that. She wouldn't even know how to do it if the situation was ever to arise and, she realized, she didn't want to know how to do it. What scared her maybe the most is the fact that it felt like this was something her mother, the Queen, had done several times before. Enough that Princess Serenity was in no way surprised by it. Just how much of the Silver Millennium's 'peace' had been because her mother subverted free will?

* * *

"I think it is gotten worse since Haruka and Michiru have been busy." Usagi noted plopping down next to Hotaru the following afternoon. The memory she had experienced the night before still bounced around in her head and she was trying not to think about it. Focusing on the present seemed a good way to do that. In this case, Hotaru's bullies.

"The notes?" Hotaru clarified. Last, she had checked Usagi still hadn't told any of the others about her bullies starting to become aggressive towards Usagi. Usagi had yet to see who was leaving the notes. "You should really tell them."

"Have you?" Usagi asked raising an eyebrow. She knew Hotaru had her own set of bullies that went after her. She also knew Hotaru hadn't told the others she was still being harassed.

Hotaru grumbled after a moment, clearly caught, before sighing. "Summer break's about to start." Nothing had seemed to stop the bullies before. Outside of maybe an expulsion threat and usually they weren't stupid enough to escalate it to that point. "Where are those two anyway?" Hotaru continued after a moment clearly asking about the two girls missing from the group right then, Michiru and Haruka.

"Working on something for their next concert." Usagi said after thinking for a moment.

"Nearly forgot they perform in the classical arts." Hotaru said frowning for a moment. The duo hadn't had a show that she knew of since she had become Saturn.

"I can't forget. I live with them. If it wasn't for one of their concerts, it would have taken me a lot longer to find them." Usagi said smiling a bit at the memory of the concert that had ended up introducing the two of them to her. Not even Yuki's presence could completely spoil that.

"Why haven't you told them anyway?" Hotaru asked after a brief silence. She knew why she hadn't told them, but Usagi obviously had her own reasons.

"She doesn't want to make them feel burdened with her problems." Naru making Hotaru jump. Usagi was used to the soft padding of Naru's feet but Hotaru sometimes forgot to listen for Naru's quiet steps. She took her place at Usagi's side on the grass under the Ash tree they had found by a small pond with water lilies of varying shades, some seeming pearly white and some seeming to be almost blue. It created an almost magical feeling to this small quiet place. Truly, it was a miracle no one else had found this place to harass them. It wasn't exactly hard to find. You just didn't immediately realize it from the outside. Naru frowned at Usagi leaning her back against the soft grey of the ash tree, clearly not agreeing with her reasoning for not telling them but keeping her mouth shut to let what she had already said sink in as she sunk into her tuna sandwich. She had known Usagi long enough to know why she was avoiding talking about the subject with anyone except her and Hotaru. It was unlikely they would even know if they did not already know, by nature of circumstance, what was going on. There had even been a time Usagi had tried to hide from Naru and only the fact they had known one another so long gave her the insight to know anything was wrong.

Hotaru seemed to zone out before blinking. "Usagi we're your guardians. We're supposed to help you."

"I know that." Usagi said poking some of her food with a chopstick before deciding her nerves were not stronger than Michiru or Haruka's cooking. When they found out how terrible she was, they sometimes treated her to homemade food. Her mouth watered. It wasn't her mothers but something

Naru shook her head. "How would you feel if all you heard was ' _Why can't you be more like Ms. Ono and not burden us with your little pesky issues Ms. Tsukino?'_ " Naru said obviously quoting someone she had heard more than once. "Besides, Usagi has never been one to ask for help, to begin with."

"Did the school really use to say that?" Hotaru asked finally finding her voice. It was supposed to be the school office's job to help their students. It sounded like Juuban had gone out of their way to do the opposite.

"I wonder what would happen if the admin here was faced with some of the same issues." Hotaru thought out loud. She would like to think they would be better supportive of fixing the situation than Juuban apparently had. But she might be looking at it from a skewed perception. "They haven't given me nearly as much trouble as you described."

"You're somewhat lucky in that sense Hotaru. Usagi's experience with the administration isn't exactly alone. My old school wasn't particularly fond of me partly because I had trouble controlling my powers before meeting Setsuna for the first time. So, I tended to run my mouth. It made me disliked by a lot of people both faculty and student." Ryo said causing the entire group to jump in surprise. They had been so caught up in their conversation they hadn't heard him.

"How did you deal with all of that?" Usagi asked. Wondering if his school situation was closer to her's or Hotaru's. In a sense they were bullied but either had or didn't have a network of support to get through it. It sounded like it was closer to her situation than Hotaru's.

"Better than you probably think. You would be surprised how quickly you can get people to back off by threatening to reveal something you can see is personal." Ryo said with a shrug before taking a seat with them and biting into his lunch. He had learned with how to deal with bullies rather quickly growing up. "Only took one person doubting my abilities for word to get around. I was a freak, but I was a freak who knew things, and that was enough. It was lonelier than anything else. Most of the time they pretended I didn't exist, and no one wanted anything to do with the 'creepy freak'."

For a moment it struck Usagi that perhaps everyone here found this place because they, misfits and outcasts each in their own right, needed this place and her heart warmed, thankful to Haruka and Michiru for sharing this place with her. Watching her small group of friends interact seemed to almost breathe life into the very air itself here and added to the warm sense of peace and calm this small place protected by the ash tree seemed to naturally hold.

* * *

When Usagi had invited Ryo over to the apartment she shared with the others; this hadn't what he had been expecting. They were still waiting on the Dark Kingdom to make a move involving his status as a former Great Warrior Youma. What he had not expected, even with his gift, was to come in and find Usagi, Hotaru, and a brunette he didn't recognize surrounded by a couple of dozen kittens.

"Go ahead and get a seat where you can get comfortable." Usagi greeted him as a couple of the kittens started approaching the new arrival. "They're all friendly and will be climbing all over you first chance they get."

"Thanks." Ryo said finally finding a kitten free spot for the moment and sitting. Sure enough a few minutes later he had about three black kittens climbing over him. "So, this is what you invited me over for?" He watched Hotaru as she turned several shades of pink after having to stop one kitten that crawled up her skirt or tried to anyway.

"Yep!" Usagi nearly gushed as she picked up a little grey and black kitten. "I've been babysitting some friends' kitties once a week for a couple of months now. Hotaru has been joining me for a while now. Mako over here-" Usagi indicated the unnamed brunette at this. She had invited Mako over for the first time shortly after she had gotten over her cold. She had figured the brunette probably could use some cheering up herself. "Joined a couple of weeks after Hotaru. I figured with how tough things have been with you lately you would probably appreciate a little kitten therapy. Nothing like kittens when you feel down. Group used to be larger but some of them have gone to new homes. It will probably get bigger sometime soon. New kittens on the way." Usagi explained holding up an orange kitten that had tried to climb onto her already kitten crowded head. "Not enough room up there. Got to wait your turn." She said to the kitten placing him back down on the ground. While the two somehow not falling off in there mini cat pile on top of her head remained and did not appear to be willing to 'give a turn' anytime soon. "They really like to perch on my head for some reason. Looks like you've already made some new friends."

"Yeah." Ryo said cracking his first real smile since he had been kicked out of his home. Giving a light chuckle as one of the kittens he was scratching under the chin started purring. His eyes went sad for a moment. "Used to have a cat at home. Had to leave her when I got kicked out."

"I'm sorry." Usagi said. She hadn't meant to drag up an unpleasant memory.

Ryo shook his head after a moment managing to smile a bit. "No, it's fine. I'm glad you invited me. Could I come back next week too?" Having to leave Naoko at home was rough, and these kittens couldn't replace her, but they still made him smile and reminded him he might see her again.

"Absolutely." Usagi said smiling, clearly pleased with this outcome.

* * *

Even the best-laid plans sometimes fall to the wayside as shown when the Dark Kingdom finally went after Ryo again. Setsuna had been keeping a close eye on Ryo and Zoisite had been keeping an ear out for the first move from the Dark Kingdom. Somehow, they still managed to be surprised.

Mamoru eventually got to Ryo when one of them was distracted and unaware Mamoru was finally coming. They later would find out Zoisite had been busy with other things when Mamoru had gotten to Ryo finally and transformed him into his Great Warrior Form. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were trying to keep Ryo distracted and wear him down some to make things easier for Moon to heal. Saturn and Moon were trying to keep Mamoru from running off on them and going after anyone else. That didn't last long.

Moon shook her head making her decision rather quickly. " _Protect them._   _I can handle myself._ " Moon said turning to Saturn for a moment. Her voice dripping with barely trained power as she gave the command reluctantly tapping into the power, she had seen her mother use in that memory. She could handle one man with a sword. A youma, especially a Great Warrior one was a lot more dangerous in her mind. She hated having to use the power she had seen her mother display in that memory. But it felt necessary here even if she was going to try avoiding using it in the near future if possible.

Saturn gave pause silently swearing as she realized what Moon had done. Even as she wasn't entirely sure Moon had realized what her words meant. She didn't want to leave, but she didn't have a choice in the matter as she took off for where the others were. "I thought you were supposed to stay back with her." Uranus asked as Saturn came running up to the group dealing with the Great Warrior Youma. The unspoken command of, get yourself back to Moon being heard clearly.

Saturn shook her head as she powered up a Silent Wall. "I  _can't_. Whether intentional or not she used magic." This was the same kind of order that had locked Pluto into the time gates until Chronos had stepped in and her into her final actions before the Silver Alliance had fallen. At least this one had good intentions behind it unlike when the Queen had been using it for the most part.

"And we can't supersede those kinds of orders.  _Great_." Uranus said complaining. Moon was the highest rank of them all. When she gave an order that was enforced by her magic, they couldn't go against it. There were a few ways to go around it, but Uranus didn't know any of them. She was going to have to try and find them. Due to her technically being the leader of the Outer Senshi she was the next in ranking behind Moon. So, if she could figure out how she could supersede Moon's orders when it came to the safety of Moon... The problem was finding out how. "Let's get this over as quickly as possible." Before Moon got herself hurt trying to protect them.

Anymore conversation was cut off as a bright light erupted from where Moon had been fighting with Mamoru and swept through the area, causing the others to cover their eyes. It took a moment for the light to finally start dying down and as it became easier to see again, it became obvious Ryo had replaced the formerly transformed Great Warrior Youma. Suggesting the light had probably come from Moon trying to perform a healing spell.

"Is he all right?" Moon asked coming up between them. A youma had taken off with Mamoru as soon as the light had died down. She had been trying to heal him and put a bit too much of a punch behind it if the light was anything to go by. Not that it had mattered he had been taken away before she could know if it had worked. Sailor Moon felt her failure very much in that regard.

"He's fine. Might be a bit sore for the next few days but he'll be okay." Pluto assured her having finished checking Ryo over. Glancing over Moon for a moment Moon looked like she had been having quite the scuffle with Mamoru before the light had erupted. She assumed Moon had tried to use an opening to try and heal Mamoru and had failed. At least the Great Warrior Youma problem was taken care of. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. My head hurts." Moon explained hand reaching up to the spot she had hit with a slight hiss.

"What happened?" Neptune asked moving to get a better look. Ignoring Moon's attempts to swat her hands away for the moment.

"Guardrails are not my friend." Moon said giving up on shooing Neptune away. She motioned back to the playground her and Mamoru had been fighting around in for a little bit.

"Idiot, what were you thinking?" Uranus asked though it lacked her usual bark. She was annoyed at Moon for deciding that taking a brainwashed Mamoru was the best thing while the others were distracted. She was also annoyed that Moon had ordered Saturn to stay with them. However, no matter how upset she was Uranus was also worried about the head injury. She knew Moon had come out of scrapes like this fine before. The first night they had met had been an example of her ability to take a hit and bounce back from it later, and this didn't even seem as bad as that. Didn't change that she got worried when Usagi got injured.

"I thought that maybe we could get him out of there and out of danger." Moon responded. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea to her. She winced as Neptune touched a sensitive spot hissing as she jumped slightly.

"Sorry." Neptune said withdrawing her hand after a moment. "Good news is that its just a bump, no bleeding. The bad news is we might have to keep an eye out for a concussion."

"I know what a concussion feels like. I'm fine." Moon said trying to wave off the concern. She'd unintentionally reminded both Neptune and Uranus of the day they had met.

Neptune pinched her nose for a moment before speaking. "Moon, just how many times have you had a concussion?"

"The one time with Yuki." Moon reluctantly confirmed. "Or rather her friends in that case."

Neptune frowned as she seemed to come to a realization. Remembering the first time they had all crossed paths back in January. "The classmate you were talking about the night of the concert. The one you ended up backstage trying to avoid. That was Yuki you were talking about wasn't it?" It was a belated realization, and one Neptune wished she had come to sooner. Now it even seemed a bit obvious. That would have saved a lot of time and effort if she had realized the one person, she had been trying to find for about three months had been there that night in January.

Moon blinked in surprise. Honestly, she had been referring to the staircase incident. She had forgotten about the concert slip. So much had happened since then and there still was no actual proof that Yuki had been behind that fall no matter what she and Naru believed. "I was referring to something else. I was fine after the concert."

"But that was her you were referring to that night correct?" Neptune pressed.

Moon shifted uncomfortably at that. "Yes."

"No wonder you escaped to the backstage area." Uranus said in realization. Moon hadn't realized it was backstage at the time of course. Based on the girl's history she couldn't blame her for going somewhere that she would have been less likely to be bothered by Yuki.

"Can we just go home now?" Moon asked seeing neither of them were going to continue the conversation. It had been a long trying night. She wanted her bed and what sleep she could get. Even if it would be nightmare ridden, sleep was sleep right about now.

Saturn came up to the group a moment later having walked off when she heard the communicator going off. "Don't dehenshin yet. We just got word that Zoisite managed to extract Jadeite."

* * *

"What happened?" Masato asked looking between the group as they arrived where he and Zoisite had been waiting with the frozen form of Jadeite. Judging by the more than grumpy form of Uranus. Something had happened before they had shown up here. Zoisite hadn't mentioned any possible enemy attack when they had met up. But Zoisite wasn't the only one working under Beryl that could still command a youma. There was easily a possibility that someone else had sent a youma.

"I'm fine." Moon assured him. It was hard to believe at times that just a few short months ago this was the same general who had thrown an energy blast at her and the others trying to kill them when he worried over a bump that would be fine by morning like that. Sure, she had healed him of the Dark Kingdom's control, but that didn't necessarily change his views, just made him not a slave to the dark kingdom anymore. Guess hanging out with Naru all that time was rubbing off on him. Perhaps he worried for Naru's sake?

"What happened?" Masato repeated again this time glancing up at the older senshi realizing he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of Moon.

"Mamoru was going after the former crystal holders trying to make them back into Great Warrior Youmas. She tried to heal him while we were distracted and got hit in the head." Uranus said jabbing a finger at Moon. Still annoyed at the stunt Moon had tried to pull. She was starting to calm down now, but it would be a while before the annoyance completely faded.

"There has to be a way to break Beryl's spell over him." Moon commented though to who the comment was directed it was unsure.

Neptune let out a sigh. "I'm sure there is. Have you two been able to figure out how to get through to him?" Neptune asked directing the last part towards Masato though Zoisite would still have the best chance at getting through to him at this point. She wasn't even sure if Masato had run into Mamoru since he had been brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom.

"No." Masato confessed with a sigh. "We'll figure it out somehow." No way was Endymion going to die working for The Dark Kingdom. Not if Zoisite or Masato had anything to say about it.

"So, you managed to get Jadeite then?" Moon asked trying to get them on track with why they were here. Masato hadn't really pointed him out yet, but the giant bit of ice surrounding the soon to be former Dark Kingdom general was kind of hard to miss.

"Yes, I was in the process of retrieving him the last time we talked, but I wasn't sure I would be able to do it and the less you know how I did, the better." Zoisite confessed. A lot of his success had depended on youma not mouthing off during the process of finding where Jadeite was being kept. He had kept quiet largely because he didn't want to bring up false hope, particularly for Usagi. That girl wanted to save everyone and seemed to take every life they couldn't save onto herself and if she had known she would have wanted to help. That would have made them more likely to be caught.

"How do you bribe youma?" Uranus asked skeptically raising an eyebrow. Sure, Zoisite hadn't said he had bribed youma. But how else would he have gotten the information considering his standing with Beryl was supposedly mixed now. Him nearly killing Mamoru while under the Dark Kingdom's control had not left him as her favorite person, to say the least.

Though it was hard to reconcile the idea of these monsters would want anything enough to give Zoisite this kind of information. Sure, there were some that had been human once upon a time, like Beryl and Ruby's court, but enough frame of mind to be bribed? That was doubtful. The idea that Zoisite had been able to bribe his way to anything let alone something this important was so foreign a concept it was laughable to even consider. That couldn't have been an easy task to pull off.

Zoisite shrugged. "Even youma have things they want. I won't say bribing youma is the easiest thing, but it's possible if done right. You just have to know who to talk to and who to persuade to get the right information and what they want in return. Youma will not tell you what they want. You must already know. That does tend to make it harder."

"Couldn't that backfire though?" Saturn asked. If one of them decided to run their mouth at Beryl, then Zoisite's position could be compromised.

"Yes." Zoisite agreed making a face. "However, Beryl has shown so little interest in Jadeite, and he was so unguarded that getting him out was simple once I found him but finding him... that was the hard part. I doubt anyone is going to realize he's gone let alone that I was the one that retrieved him." And if someone did most of the youma had been significantly less powerful then him. With the changing dynamic of what some of the youma were, he would rather not have to take one out less it be someone from one of the courts. That wouldn't stop him from doing so if it came down to it and he somehow felt that would be bad to say in front of the gentle-hearted Usagi. It was a matter of what mattered more in taking down the Dark Kingdom to him and him being able to sneak out information was a higher priority than a single life. The information could save a lot more, and he could see her gentle heart would make that difficult to keep in mind, and so he would say nothing about that side of things for now. He doubted even Ruby; nay Naru would like it either. He had a feeling both Princess would try to 'find another way' but he knew very well there wasn't one within the Dark Kingdom. That just wasn't how things worked and trying to do anything less than what he was willing to do was the fastest way to death.

"Let's worry about the how he got Jadeite out later." Neptune said breaking in. It was getting late they were all tired, and the sooner Moon healed Jadeite the sooner this was all over.

Moon nodded getting out her compact and pointing it at Jadeite incanting. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

It was like when she had healed Masato back in the day. Though Masato also hadn't needed for an ice crystal to be removed from around him thankfully. She wasn't entirely sure if that had been the case at the time if she would have been successful. So much had changed since then.

She let out a tired sigh of relief as the ice finally vanished completely and a moment later the dark cloud of energy that had been circling over Jadeite similar to the one that had formed over Masato dissipated. It had worked, but she was probably going to need a lot of sleep after this, even as restless as it had come.

Moon's thoughts drifting for a moment to the trip to get to the meetup place. Uranus hadn't been particularly pleased with the idea at first of taking care of Jadeite tonight and while she had been the only one to voice it. But Moon had been rather firm in dealing with this tonight and leaving Jadeite in whatever this strange state he was actually in. She knew Uranus hadn't been alone in that, that Moon was positive of. And she did get where Uranus was coming from if the roles were reversed…but she refused to let Jadeite stay the way he was any longer than possible. As she peered over the form of Jadeite barely becoming conscious just now.

"Easy Jadeite. You've been sleeping for a while. There's a lot to catch you up on." Masato said moving to help Jadeite up.

Uranus shoved Moon behind her just as Jadeite came to a stop after sitting up from a dead lay down. Regardless of Sailor Moon's magic their last encounter with Jadeite he had still been an enemy to them. And who knew how he would react to any of them after being asleep for so long, even if the brainwashing was supposed to be gone. Jadeite muttered to himself. "What am I doing?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Zoisite asked deciding to cut to the chase. With their track record so far, it could be anything from all the way up to when Beryl put him in eternal sleep or as early to the early days of Elysion's fall. He was hoping the later so that they wouldn't be repeating everything before Jadeite's memories came back in full force.

"Beryl punishing me for not completing some task but none of this makes sense." Jadeite said trailing off as he tried to sort through the jumble of memories.

"Do you remember Elysian?" Masato asked trying to figure out just how much trouble they might be in.

"Why wouldn't I?" Jadeite asked shooting him a confused look.

"It's a long story." Masato answered.

"Could you please continue this conversation a bit further away?" Uranus asked cutting in. She didn't want to risk a confused Jadeite trying to attack them. Until they knew for sure Jadeite wasn't a threat, she didn't want him anywhere near the others.

"Yes sorry." Masato agreed grabbing Jadeite and Zoisite and dragging them off elsewhere.

"How are you feeling?" Neptune asked tugging Usagi over to her and giving her a once over once Masato, and the other generals had moved away.

"Just tired." Moon assured them. She had been using her magic so much lately that it was starting to get to her. She had thought, maybe hoped, that once she had the crystal, it would be easier and less tiring to heal. While it had initially seemed that way, healing Jade had certainly seemed to support that; she was still finding it exhausting. "Nothing a good night's sleep shouldn't fix." If she could get it that is.

"Maybe this is too much." Neptune noted. Usagi had started looking better again after they had dealt with the last rainbow crystal. Sure, they had been dealing with the members of Beryl and Ruby's court, but that hadn't seemed to effect her nearly as much. Now Usagi was starting to look a bit more worn down again. Getting a general out from under Beryl was useful but if the healing kept dragging Moon down...

"As long as there may be other youma like Jade I can't stop." Moon said shaking her head slightly. She could rest when either they had recuperated everyone possible from the Dark Kingdom, or the Dark Kingdom was dissolved. Not before. Jade was a sweat kid, a little girl, and the idea they could have killed her and never known she was anything but a Youma still haunted Usagi deeply.

"You can't save them all." Neptune reminded her inevitably going back to the argument they had been having before Zoisite had contacted them and understanding where her mind had gone by the expression on her face.

"But I want to save who I can." Moon said. Even if it meant over extending herself. She had vowed the day that she had gotten the Ginzishou and her memories back that there would be no more Shingos. She was going to stick to that vow even if it cost her life to fulfill it. She wasn't going to admit that to the others. She didn't want them to worry or try to stop her.

* * *

"I didn't have a choice. Once she made her decision, I had to walk away." Hotaru said letting out a frustrated sigh. They were back at the apartment shared by Usagi and the others. Usagi had pretty much crashed as soon as she had arrived home heading straight for bed. She hadn't wanted to leave Usagi to face a brainwashed Tuxedo Mask. Usagi had apologized afterward, but it didn't change the fact that it had led to Sailor Moon having to defend herself alone from the other boy against Sailor Saturn's wishes. "She apologized for doing it. But she seemed a bit torn between regretting having to do it and not regretting it."

"She used a magic-laced command." Setsuna realized. She hadn't overheard Haruka's quick conversation with Hotaru during the fight. She had been so preoccupied with dealing with the youma version of Ryo. If that was the case, Hotaru hadn't had a choice in the matter once Usagi had made her decision. Hotaru nodding her head in confirmation.

"You know about that?" Michiru asked a bit surprised. Haruka and herself had a couple of vague memories of orders like that during the Silver Millennium but nothing concrete.

"It was a favorite trick of her mother's back during the Silver Alliance when she wasn't getting her way. This goes a bit beyond most magic laced command since its backed by the Ginzishou. I don't think she'll use it to the extent her mother did back in the Silver Millennium, but we need to be weary if it happens again." Setsuna let out a sigh. She had been hoping that the one thing Usagi wouldn't remember was that trick. Not because she was worried Usagi might abuse it like her mother, the queen, tended to but because it made it a lot harder to protect Usagi if she pulled those commands. She really did need to talk with the younger girl about that. It brought up terrifying possible outcomes Setsuna simply could not accept happening.

"Is there really no way to override that command when she uses her magic to back it?" Michiru asked worried about what this could mean. Her concern laid in the fact that Usagi may use it to pull an order that might endanger herself by trying to protect them. She cared for them all deeply, and yet it was there duty to protect her over themselves and even to an extent more than any other duties to which they were beholden.

"Nothing that I know of." Setsuna admitted eyes flashing for a moment in remorse. If they had known a way to override the Queen's commands things may have gone very differently during the last hours of the Silver Millennium. As it was, they had no known way to supersede the commands, even when it came to their worlds and abilities.

"This could be bad if Usagi decides to use it every time she thinks we're in danger." Haruka noted frowning slightly. This new skill added a whole other layer to their fighting and danger when it came to protecting their princess.

"I'm not sure if she will do it again." Hotaru said simply, remembering the sick look on Usagi's face from her apology. "She apologized."

"She apologized?" Haruka asked a bit surprised at Hotaru's nod. Usagi maybe a lot of things but in general when it came to their safety, she was pretty sure on her decisions most of the time concerning their safety. Whatever she had done with her magic must have made her uncomfortable if she felt the need to apologize later.

Setsuna picked up as Haruka and Michiru seemed to ponder the information already given. "It's not surprising Usagi would have a distaste for using it. It takes away our free will in a given situation. Usagi likely felt this was a life or death situation. I do not believe she would use it otherwise. The queen abused this ability often and even as Serenity; our princess has always despised its use." Setsuna explained. Both Hotaru and herself had been on the receiving end of that magic at different points more so than the rest of the other senshi. Probably everyone who had been serving under the Queen had been subjected to it at least a few times. They had just bore the brunt of it the most. They would understand what it did better than Haruka and Michiru who as far as Setsuna knew had never had to deal with it before. There was also the rather strong possibility that Serenity had been subjected to the magic.

That caused to Michiru to stare for a moment before thoughtfully speaking. "I never realized that crystal was that powerful."

Setsuna said. "There's a reason why the Ginzishou would have been dangerous and deadly if it had fallen in enemy hands." The Dark Kingdom, if they had managed to get their hands on it, could have wiped out the Earth and everything else had they learned to control the Ginzishou. No one would have been able to stand in their way.

* * *

Sometime, well after Setsuna and Hotaru had left, found Usagi standing just outside of the open doorway having been woken up by another nightmare. She had found herself drawn here since there seemed to be a strange connection between sleeping better and being around the two older girls. And so here she stood, hesitating before a door that had Michiru and Haruka on the other side of it.

"This is stupid." Usagi muttered finally turning to head back to her room. She should be able to sleep without the others! She wasn't an infant! She had done it plenty of times in the past.

"Usagi?" Michiru's quiet voice broke her out of her thoughts before Usagi had even made it a couple steps down the hallway towards her room causing the blonde to freeze. She hadn't even thought that one of them might wake and see her before she came to her decision.

"Sorry, Michiru. I didn't mean to wake either of you." Usagi said giving an apologetic smile that felt a bit forced.

Michiru shook her head. "I was awake." Sleep had been difficult tonight. Trying to process the events of the last few days and the possible repercussions of Usagi's new found power meant sleep hadn't been so easy to come. "Do you want to join us?" She had a feeling that's why Usagi was here for even if she was hesitating to ask.

Usagi visibly hesitated. "I don't want to be a bother…"

"Usagi. You're not a bother." Michiru said shaking her head pulling back the blanket so the blonde could slip in between the two of them. Usagi hesitated before giving in and making her way to the bed before crawling in. Truth be told this could probably not just help her but them as well. Nightmares after Usagi's near-kidnapping in the aftermath of her near death had been coming and going. As of late, all of them had helped one another through those nightmares.

Michiru had found herself considering Haruka's suggestion more and more; it benefited not only her but them as well for some strange reason. While neither of them really minded it, making the whole situation more formal never came up at an actual convenient time to have the conversation. Maybe it was best to finally talk about this the next day after classes let out.

End Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this week.
> 
> Just wanted to wish an early happy birthday to long time reader Puffgirl1952 the2nd. 
> 
> As always please leave a review or comment. Even if its not immediately after posting I read all of them.
> 
> 31 will be going up on the 2nd due to some early travel. For now here's the preview:
> 
> “Maybe you five need to take a vacation.” Mamiko thought out loud to herself more than Michiru. She had been playing with the idea for a while. This Dark Kingdom couldn’t do much of anything without the princess or the Ginzishou so if you removed their target for a while things shouldn’t be a problem to handle especially if it was for a short period. “It would give Tsukino time to recuperate from all of this and if your far enough out of town then the kidnapping threat should diminish.” Though it was impossible to say if they would be able to find whoever was targeting Tsukino specifically in only a few days. It wasn’t a perfect solution. If they went anywhere that wasn’t private then they might have to rent out the entire place, which shouldn’t be a problem concerning her higher ups position on the Sailor Senshi right now. Just a bit more work than normal.
> 
>  
> 
> “We did do that before, but the situation is tenser now then it was back then…” Michiru trailed off there it was true they had taken a vacation before. Luna having been on standby in case something had come up even if it wasn’t the perfect solution to their lack of presence. So, they could do it again and they also had Zoisite reporting into them back them now, so they did have one thing to their advantage. And taking Usagi away from the source of stress should hopefully help. “But we probably can go out of town without causing trouble thanks to our informant. If something does crop up, he can tell us.” Plus removing the main target of the Dark Kingdom’s ire should cause things to die down for a little while. Zoisite would probably try to send any youma he was put in charge of on a wild goose chase to gather energy rather than after Usagi. Mamoru was the only wild card in this but there was always the hotline if something did pop up again involving him. Maybe a few days out of town really wouldn’t be a bad idea. 
> 
> Short preview I know. But got to keep it short to avoid spoiling anything of too much importance for 31.
> 
> Hope everyone has a good holiday and a happy new year! See you on the 4th!


	31. Changing Constants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone welcome to this week's chapter. Know its a bit later then usual today. I've been busy with some other stuff. Not fic related.
> 
> Thanks as always to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> On with the chapter.

Chapter 31

Changing Constants

Really it should have been expected. The last time Usagi had expended a lot of energy she had gotten sick. Healing Jadeite had been too involved not to be taxing. She had brought him out of a sleep meant to be eternal, had healed him of long-term magical brainwashing, and cleansed him of any trace of the dark kingdom. Nearly being kidnapped probably hadn't helped. Also, didn't stress tend to make things worse?

Usagi sat bleary-eyed barely touching her dinner knowing she was anything but well. The edges of her vision were closing in. She knew what was coming and she had not the will to even begin to defy it.

* * *

"You passed out." Haruka said worrying over Usagi. Why had this happened? The paramedics the other day had made it sound like Usagi would be fine. But passing out in your dinner wasn't what Haruka would call 'fine'.

"Sleep. Tired." Usagi muttered to herself. It seemed like she was constantly going since the thing with the rainbow crystals had started. Sure, there had been some lull periods, but if it wasn't the Dark Kingdom making her life complicated, it was something else, Yuki for instance.

"We're taking you to the hospital." Michiru decided before anyone could even suggest otherwise. Usagi needed to be checked out. Passing out was not normal, even for them. After the scare just, a couple of weeks ago where Usagi had nearly died Michiru wasn't taking any chances. They needed to check and make sure there wasn't something wrong.

"I don't need to go to the hospital." Usagi protested failing to keep the whine out of her voice. She hated going to the hospital it felt like she had just gotten out after the last trip. She felt fine she was just tired.

"Usagi you just passed out. Like it or not you're going to the hospital." Michiru said voice hardening slightly to make it clear it wasn't up for debate. She understood Usagi had probably seen more of an inside of a hospital then most saw in the lifetime. But that didn't change the fact that she needed to be checked out.

* * *

"She's exhausted." Ikuko told the three as they went back to Usagi's room a couple of hours later. Usagi had finally been cleared to have visitors that weren't family. After more poking and prodding and grumbling from Usagi about going through this again. Setsuna had arrived shortly after the others had brought Usagi to the hospital. "They're not sure what could be causing it. They have some theories, but they don't know." Ikuko explained letting them into the room moving over so they could approach Usagi. She had her own theories on what had caused her daughter to faint. Nothing that she could back up and she couldn't bring it up here anyway.

"Hey, kitten. Feeling better?" Haruka asked reaching out and ruffling Usagi's hair slightly. She still looked a bit tired and worn down. She hated that even worn as she was clearly now, there was still no end in sight with the Dark Kingdom.

"Fine. Just tired of seeing hospitals. Doctors thought it might be a vitamin deficiency this time." Usagi confessed. "They're keeping me overnight 'for observation.' If nothing happens, I should be able to go home tomorrow and be alright to go to school."

"It's possible that anemia can do this." Setsuna said more to herself than to the others. She was still inclined to think it was more likely tied to Senshi duty, but maybe it was being compounded by something else. Actually, from what she remembered hearing from the others the healing may not be the only issue… "Would you two mind giving us a moment?" Setsuna asked after a moment turning to the others. If she was right about her train of thought, Usagi might not want them in the room when it was confirmed.

"Sure, we'll grab something to eat from the cafeteria." Michiru grabbed Haruka pulling her out of Usagi's room before she could put up much of a protest. Obviously, Setsuna wanted to talk to Usagi about something away from their ears. That should give Setsuna enough time to talk about whatever it was that was bothering her.

Setsuna closed the door shut behind her and waited a few moments to make sure the others had probably walked away. "You've been using magic to cover your nightmares, up haven't you?" Setsuna asked after a moment. It would certainly explain a few things. Like Usagi's continued tiredness, a passing comment from Luna about Usagi's sleep never really seeming peaceful but not exactly causing much noise at the same time suddenly clicked in Setsuna's mind, making far too much sense. Usagi lightly flinched at that was all the confirmation she needed. "Usagi…"

"I didn't want to be a burden." Usagi said quietly. "Sometimes I wake up screaming. It's better if they can't hear." Most of the one she had dreams about were never pleasant. Whether it be Shingo or the last moments of the Moon Kingdom. If she didn't keep a lid on it, she was pretty sure none of them would be getting a good night's sleep. The closest she had ventured to ever talking about had been the other night when she had admitted sometimes her dreams were a combination of the Moon and what had happened to that poor girl.

"The fall of the Moon Kingdom?" Setsuna asked. She still only had bare details on those events since she had yet to go to the Time Gates to check them out. All she had to go on was what she had seen in the aftermath and Usagi's silent cues. "You need to tell them." She got the idea that talking about the fall was extremely straining on Usagi. "They care about you."

"I know that, but it's hard to think about at times let alone talk about it." Usagi confessed. Indirectly giving the reason, she hadn't told Setsuna about the nightmares yet either. She wasn't sure if or when she would be ready to talk about some of the things that had happened during the Moon Kingdom's final hours.

"Have you talked to Minako at all again?" Setsuna asked changing the subject slightly. Maybe Usagi would feel best talking with someone who had been with her during the fall.

"Not since the first time." Usagi said after a moment. "It's hard since she lives in a different time zone." Also, there was the fact that despite their connection in the past life they were still strangers in this one.

"She'll be back at the end of summer vacation." Setsuna said leaving the impression she wanted them to get to know one another and talk. Help one another. She couldn't see this stretching all the way into the fall so Minako's return would be coming sooner than later. It was good that one of the Inners was able to help her in a sense at least.

"Do you know how violent my death was?" Usagi asked after a moment. Usually, she would have thought no since Pluto hadn't been present that awful night. Then again considering Pluto's domain, it might not be that far out there that she did know what had happened.

"I know pieces, brief flashes I could see through the fog. As I said before the Time Gates kept obscuring the events during the fall." Setsuna said shaking her head slightly. "I can view the events from the Time Gates now however if you would prefer me finding out that way rather than talking about it directly. I just can't interfere. It's too far back." The gates should show her now that she could do nothing and had a reason to need to know for the present.

Usagi blinked in surprise at the suggestion. "I guess that would be OK. Are you sure you want to...?" Truth be told she wasn't sure if she was enthusiastic about the idea. It wasn't so much she didn't want anyone else knowing, but her death had been so violent she didn't want to wish those memories on anyone else. Usagi was worried about how this might effect Setsuna. Would it then make her unable to sleep as well? Usagi bit her lip without thinking, worrying.

"You're still hesitating though." Setsuna noticed. Usagi's apparent reluctance to say yes or no to the idea of her viewing the events was clear.

"It was terrible, and I don't want you to hurt for me." Usagi admitted.

"You're afraid we will be hurt." Setsuna finally realized. At Usagi's hesitant nod she sighed. "Usagi, we know ourselves. Trust us to decide what we can and cannot handle. We cannot function as protectors if you do not let us protect you."

"It was just so…" Usagi muttered shivering slightly at the memory, holding down the bile that willed itself from the bowels of her stomach. She hesitated for a moment. "I guess if you really want to know I won't stop you or the others. Just please be careful." Even then they might only get a fragment of what Serenity went through. She wasn't sure if the illusions Serenity had spent hours in were visible to anyone other than her and the youma.

"I will." Setsuna said, eyes warm towards her princess. She only had a vague idea based on the remains she had found, but those told a story of themselves and could not help but wonder at the strength hidden within her hime for her to have to remember those events and still have the strength to worry about them and live this life the way she did. Usagi's heart, her very soul, must be stronger than anything Setsuna had ever seen, perhaps even the time gates. After a slight pause. "Have you found any way to help quell the nightmares?"

Usagi seemed to hesitate at that. For the most part, nothing helped thus why she kept using her magic to cover them up, but there had been an exception. "Just a couple of times." Usagi admitted with some hesitation after a moment blushing slightly at the memory. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on her she had just been so tired that she hadn't even realized she had dozed off at first. "I woke up once really briefly. But other than that, I slept through the entire night something that hasn't really happened that much since I got my memories back. I don't know if it was just a coincidence but so far the only nights, I've been nightmare free is when I've accidentally fallen asleep alongside Michiru or Haruka." Usagi admitted flushing slightly in embarrassment. She felt bad that she seemed to keep getting in the middle of them. But there was something about them that helped with the nightmares. Not that she could figure out what it was for the life of her.

"You think being near them helped keep the nightmares away?" Setsuna realized what Usagi was possibly getting at. It wasn't that much of a stretch. Not with knowing what the two were to Usagi in their past lives it made some sense. The particulates of why this seemed to work were something she wasn't entirely sure of herself, and she knew what they were to one another.

"I don't understand why." Usagi admitted with a shrug. "But I have this feeling in my heart."

"It makes the most sense if that's the only thing that's changing." Setsuna agreed for a variety of reasons, most of which she couldn't tell Usagi about at the moment. "Has it happened since then?"

"The lack of nightmares?" Usagi clarified. "No not without them at least. Most nights I dream of it."

"So, it was almost certainly them then." Setsuna realized. She had a fairly good idea why the nightmares were kept at bay though she couldn't talk about it. "Have you tried asking to sleep near them?" Usagi shook her head no after a moment. Setsuna frowned before realizing she was expecting this from Usagi and Usagi wasn't one to ask for anything she felt might inconvenience someone else. She neither liked feeling as if she was being a burden and often felt she was one long before anyone else could even begin to feel such. It made sense knowing what she did that those two were the only things capable so far of keeping the nightmares at bay. Not that she could tell Usagi why. "Why don't you just ask them?"

"I don't want them to feel obligated because I was there princess." Usagi muttered.

"Usagi look at me." Setsuna commanded waiting for a moment for the girl to make contact. 'I wish I could tell you how much more than their princess you really were.' "They cared for you long before they ever knew you were Serenity. If they do this, they do it for you not for who you once were."

* * *

"Magical exhaustion?" Mamiko asked eyebrow raised in surprise. She had swung by the hospital after work to find out what had happened this time. Michiru was in the process of filling her in. "Is this a reoccurring problem?" She hadn't remembered this being mentioned before but then again everyone these days was selective on what they told her, everyone from her bosses to the senshi themselves. Not that she blamed the senshi such as her sister. Anything of high importance she couldn't keep from her bosses without getting in trouble. If it was something that needed to be kept away from them, then she couldn't be told everything.

"A few times. Usagi's magic is in healing, and her heart is endlessly kind. If she feels there is even a chance she will help. I worry. It has already made her sick before. She has been using it to cover up her nightmares as well, so as not to worry the rest of us. It can kill us to overdo our magic. It can kill her." Michiru explained with some things Setsuna had explained why this had happened.

"Maybe you five need to take a vacation." Mamiko thought out loud to herself more than Michiru. She had been playing with the idea for a while. This Dark Kingdom couldn't do much of anything without the princess or the Ginzishou so if you removed their target for a while things shouldn't be a problem to handle especially if it was for a short period. "It would give Tsukino time to recuperate from all of this, and if you're far enough out of town, then the kidnapping threat should diminish." Though it was impossible to say if they would be able to find whoever was targeting Tsukino specifically in only a few days. It wasn't a perfect solution. If they went anywhere that wasn't private then they might have to rent out the entire place, which shouldn't be a problem concerning her higher-ups' position on the Sailor Senshi right now. Just a bit more work than usual.

"We did do that before, but the situation is tenser now then it was back then…" Michiru trailed off there it was true they had taken a vacation before. Luna having been on standby in case something had come up even if it wasn't the perfect solution to their lack of presence. So, they could do it again, and they also had Zoisite reporting into them back them now, so they did have one thing to their advantage. And taking Usagi away from the source of stress should hopefully help. "But we probably can go out of town without causing trouble thanks to our informant. If something does crop up, he can tell us." Plus removing the primary target of the Dark Kingdom's ire should cause things to die down for a little while. Zoisite would probably try to send any youma he was put in charge of on a wild goose chase to gather energy rather than after Usagi. Mamoru was the only wild card in this, but there was always the hotline if something did pop up again involving him. Maybe a few days out of town really wouldn't be a bad idea.

* * *

"Sleep together?" Michiru asked in surprise glancing back at Usagi's hospital room where she was currently having a conversation with Naru. Haruka had dragged her out to talk about possible solutions on Usagi's nightmares. Bringing up what had been almost jokingly suggested the other night considering how often they were ending up in that one situation. Just make the whole situation formal since they did have some sort of strange negating effect on Usagi's nightmares.

"Unless you can think of something better." Haruka confirmed cocking an eyebrow. She didn't think Michiru was protesting to the idea. It was easy enough to forget the first conversation considering how much had been going on at the time. The drive to protect Usagi from everything including herself was something they both had. Walking away from the hospital without something to help Usagi get through this wasn't an option. For either of them.

"No, I don't." Michiru confirmed shaking her head. Honestly, she had been thinking about it herself. It made sense. And there was something about the girl that made Michiru want to keep her close by and it wasn't just because she was their princess.

Plus, there was the fact that she found her mind going back to seeing Usagi passed out on the floor. For the second time as in many weeks. That had shaken her, shaken both of them actually. One-minute Usagi had been sitting up and looking a bit pale but otherwise okay. The next minute she had been on the floor. For a brief moment, they had both been terrified that her heart had stopped again. At least that's where her mind had gone, and she was sure that's where Haruka's mind had gone too. It was something she wanted to avoid again. At all costs. "If Usagi agrees."

* * *

Haruka had managed to land watch duty for the night. Well, primary watch duty. She knew some of Usagi's detail was patrolling the halls making sure nothing popped up while someone was standing outside the door. So, it was her there when a familiar blue-haired doctor poked her head close to about midnight. While Usagi was sound asleep. "Dr. Mizuno." Haruka greeted warmly remembering the woman as the one who had been in charge of treating Usagi the last time around.

"Hello, Ms. Tenoh." Dr. Mizuno greeted. "I was really hoping I wouldn't see you two back here so soon." And with more people, she silently added. Wondering what had happened in such a short time period to cause the security situation to get even further upgraded.

"It's just exhaustion this time." Haruka said answering the question she knew the woman probably had but wasn't sure whether to ask.

"That's good to hear. I would ask if they had found the culprit behind the last situation that landed your friend in here, but your presence itself answers that question." Dr. Mizuno said shaking her head slightly. She didn't quite understand what protection the girls could provide that the hospital security or the new security staff couldn't but if it gave her family and her friends' peace of mind, she didn't have a problem with it either. "I saw her name on the list of overnight patients." "They're just keeping her overnight to make sure nothing happens." Haruka answered. Dr. Mizuno nodded her head and replied. "Yes. I could see that on her chart. Have there been any leads?" They both knew she was referring to the snuff film incident.

"They have a few leads from what I've heard, but they haven't been able to find the culprit yet." Haruka said letting out an annoyed huff. She wanted the culprits found, so they all knew kitten was safe. It was taking longer than she would have liked. But then again anything other than maybe a few days when it came to Usagi's safety could be categorized as 'too long'.

The one bright side had been this was technically expedited. Leaking the information to the government that Usagi was the Moon Princess had been the right call. As the higher-ups had followed what Mamiko and Michiru predicted and drawn the conclusion that Usagi was possibly the reincarnation of the Shinto Goddess Amaterasu. Once word got all the way up the chain a lot of barriers that might have proven an issue in finding out who was behind the snuff film had fallen. While it made it easier, as they discovered, it hadn't made it faster.

"I have a daughter about her age. Ami. I just know if something happened to her like what has happened to Ms. Tsukino…" Dr. Mizuno didn't know the full story. She wasn't the girl's general practitioner, so she didn't know the whole story but the scars she had seen the first time she had been admitted told a story within itself.

"You would move the world for her right?" Haruka concluded talking more about the unknown Ami than Usagi at the moment. A sad smile gracing her face. "Usagi's parents are like that too. I wish I could say the same about mine." Haruka was positive her parents wouldn't even care if something happened to her or not. Her brothers might but depending on work who knew how long it would take them to know if something had happened to her. They could go weeks at a time with no outside contact.

"I'm sorry, that must be difficult." Dr. Mizuno said giving her a sad look.

"It would be more difficult to live what they want." Haruka said to herself. She was happy with Michiru. As much as she missed her parents at times going back to them would mean leaving Michiru and the others. She couldn't do that. She had come to terms that unless her parents had a drastic change of heart, they probably wouldn't talk again. However, that didn't mean she didn't miss them.

* * *

Usagi was released the next morning with nothing new to report that the others didn't already know about. That afternoon when the other two had brought up the solution Usagi's reaction had been mixed. She had initially balked at the idea, nightmares or not she didn't want to cause trouble... but they had a point, she conceded. The only times she had a good night's sleep was when she had been around them recently.

On the one hand, Usagi wasn't going to deny the fact that those nights had been the best night's sleep she had had in a while. On the other, she really didn't want to intrude and make herself a burden. She could figure out how to deal with the nightmares somehow. She just hadn't done it yet. She shifted slightly uncomfortable. "I don't want to cause trouble."

"Where do you keep getting the idea that asking us for help is causing trouble?" Haruka asked rubbing her forehead in exasperation. Usagi's perpetuity to continue to think, at times, that asking for help was being a burden was something that bothered her.

"It's not you guys." Usagi finally admitted with some reluctance. That was the truth, none of them had ever said something to her to make her feel that way. After two lifetimes, first by her mother's advisor's in her past life and then by Juuban's administration in this lifetime, being told to keep her problems to herself... It was hard at times still to admit she had problems. Seeing the skeptical look on Haruka's face, she added. "Really it isn't. It's just after two lifetimes of being told to keep quiet about my problems…"

"Two lifetimes?" Michiru asked an eyebrow shooting up in surprise frowning slightly. Trying to keep the anger she was feeling towards whoever kept telling Usagi this out of her own voice. This was bad enough when she had just thought that some of Usagi's problems with sharing her issues went back to Juuban. She hadn't thought about the idea that the problem went further back than that. If Usagi said two then obviously it had been going on to an extent during the time of the Moon Kingdom.

"Mother's advisors liked to shut me down anytime I tried to go to her with a problem. Luna was the only one who tried to support me back then, but it was her against a lot of others, so it didn't make much of a difference." Usagi sighed after a moment. "Not that mother would have been a very good person to go to about them anyway." Usagi said to herself. One of her hands moving to her abdomen absent-minded as she was lost in thought. Missing the glances exchanged between the other two over the comment.

"That seems like a terrible habit to install." Michiru said after a moment frown increasing. Not only were you encouraging a child to possibly place the weight of the world on her shoulders. But you were also encouraging Serenity to not use the very people she was meant to turn to when she finally became Queen. Some of Serenity's early behavior around Rhode that she could recall was starting to make more sense with this revelation. Who had thought that was a good idea?

"I would love to give those people a piece of my mind." Haruka muttered under her breath. It continued to amaze and horrify her just how much Usagi had been forced to put up with. It showed Usagi's own strength of character that she was able to come out of it as well as she had. It was a miracle that she hadn't ended up more damaged by the time Luna or any of them had crossed paths for that matter. Things could have ended up a lot worse easily if you changed just a few small things…

Michiru kept quiet for a moment in agreement with Haruka. She wouldn't mind giving everyone who ever said such things to Usagi a piece of her mind either but now wasn't the time. Usagi herself was the focus, not the school administration they all silently knew were part of it from Usagi's previous confessions about them and not the advisors of the Silver Millennium either. "So, they just reinforced what you subconsciously remembered." Michiru realized. At that point in Usagi's life, she had very little previous memories of the Moon Kingdom, certainly not enough to remember being told that as Serenity, but if she had heard it enough growing up it might have been ingrained in her anyway even in another life. Michiru let out a sigh. "Regardless of what you've been told by others. That's not the situation here with us. We  _want_  to help."

Michiru reached out placing a hand on Usagi's cheek and running her thumb over it. "You are not a burden Usagi." Usagi found herself leaning into the touch for a moment. She hadn't really realized she  _needed_  someone to say those words specifically. Hotaru had come close to saying those words but hadn't actually said them. She gave a slight smile at them. "Thank you."

* * *

Usagi had spent most of the first couple of days home sleeping. One of the two always keeping close proximity to her when possible. Though as they found out soon enough. Just because they usually scared the nightmares didn't mean sometimes, they didn't leak through. Though generally if it did sneak through it wasn't about the Moon.

"Is Yuki a common factor in the dreams?" Michiru asked after Usagi woke up from a dream surrounding the redhead. Haruka was out for a run at the moment, and Luna's location was currently unknown. So, it was just the two of them.

"No thankfully usually dreams or rather nightmares involving her are pretty rare. But when we come close to a date that's associated with her, they do tend to resurface. Not sure why they are coming back now though. We're past the noticeable benchmarks for the next couple of months." Usagi confessed with a shrug. Maybe it was because she wasn't dreaming of the Moon Kingdom on the most frequent basis now? But even that was hard to say for sure was the cause…

"The mind is a strange thing and so are dreams. Her coming back doesn't exactly need a reason." Michiru reasoned. Sure, being able to put a reason would be nice. But other then maybe a loose connection to Usagi's most recent trip to the hospital there was nothing there to suggest as to why they were occurring at the moment.

"That's true." Usagi agreed with some reluctance.

"Why do you hate them so much?" Michiru asked after a moment of silence. This was something that she had always wondered about. Sure, the words that were carved into the prosthetic were horrific, but the issue seemed to be deeper rooted than that being the reason Usagi hated her prosthetics. Like that wasn't the only thing that had happened with them. Though she guessed some of the hate could go back to the fact that taking them had left Usagi partly defenseless against her rapists.

"…they sometimes liked to use them to hit me with." Usagi's answer was at first, so quiet Michiru nearly missed it. But she caught it none the less turning her attention back to the pigtailed blond shocked. This hadn't been something Usagi had ever mentioned before. "Thankfully these aren't made of metal, or it would have hurt a lot worse." Usagi picked up one of her old prosthetics and held it up for inspection, glad the ones she got under the program at Mugen did not bear the marks or the memories. She might have ended up with a lot of worse injuries if that was the case. "It's just hard because for a while the very thing that was supposed to help me, they kept using against me over and over. That's why I hate this pair so much. Why I can't wait until I'm cleared for the pair I've been trialing in the program. I have nothing, but bad memories associated with these, unfortunately."

"I'm sorry." Michiru said after a moment.

"It's okay. You guys know me well enough to know that if I really weren't ready to talk about it, I wouldn't have." Usagi admitted with a slight shrug. "Those days weren't that common, thankfully. As much as Naru tried to be there when she could, but she's only human. She missed class on occasion because of being sick or other things. Those were always the worst. Especially after the boys-" Usagi cut off there. After that had happened, she had distanced herself from the one other person besides Naru who could maybe help her, Umino. Not because she hated the boy, far from it, he may be annoying, but he was a good soul. That didn't change the fact that she felt so guilty for him getting hurt and didn't want him to get hurt even more from associating from her. So, she had made the decision to distance herself from him.

"We should have been there sooner." Michiru said to herself drawing Usagi into a hug. Every time they learned something new about the Yuki situation, she found herself wondering about several things. "At the very least someone should have been there sooner." Why had it taken Usagi getting seriously injured for someone to step in and stop the groups' actions? Why hadn't it been put to a stop after Usagi had been raped? Why had it seemed to have been that Usagi had to go to school for over a year fearing for her own safety?

"It's alright." Usagi said shaking her head eyes slightly watery. Well, maybe it wasn't completely alright. Yuki would forever be a tough subject for her, but it had been her choice to answer the question rather than keep silence. That it was her choice mattered. "You're all here now."

* * *

"Can we not go to the beach house this time?" Usagi asked with some hesitation the next day as they were discussing plans on where to take a short vacation about three days after her release. Michiru had decided Mamiko's suggestion had some merit and was looking into arranging a trip that most of them could go on. It was primarily to give Usagi a short breather and to celebrate her soon to be 15th birthday. And to get out of town until hopefully whoever had tried to kidnap her was gone. Train of thought was that if they took the thing that the Dark Kingdom was after away for a few days Tokyo should be relatively safe. That and Zoisite could raise the alarm if need be. She hated to make this request. But after everything else recently she just wasn't mentally prepared to go to the ocean at the moment.

"Did you not enjoy it last time?" Michiru asked glancing at the girl with a frown. She thought that despite the girl's fears she had enjoyed the trip to the beach at least. Maybe she had misread. Though she would be hard pressed to get her parents to agree as easily in the middle of summer as it had been during their trip in March.

"It's not that. I did enjoy it last time. It's just too much right now." Usagi said shaking her head. That wasn't even starting on the fact to keep the nightmares away she would have to stay in their room. Which last time had been close to the ocean. She wouldn't ask them to move further back for her sake. So, going elsewhere seemed like the best option. "Maybe we can go again after every thing's calmed down-" Usagi said starting to ramble some in her nervousness in trying to explain why she wasn't ready to go back at the moment.

Michiru reached out putting a reassuring hand on Usagi's hand. "That's fine. Do you have somewhere else in mind?"

Usagi let out a sigh of relief before speaking again. She hadn't even realized just how much she wanted to go somewhere else until Michiru said it was okay. "Yeah actually. We used to take a yearly trip to the mountains when Shingo and I were on break. Stayed at an onsen. I know its not as private as your beach house, and it's been a few years now. But it would be kind of nice to go back there."

"That does sound like a nice change of pace." Haruka noted. "Got a name?"

Usagi shook her head after a moment. "I'll have to ask Dad. I can never remember it."

* * *

Trip planning went surprisingly well and a day or two later the group was headed to the onsen. With Setsuna and Ryo were making a detour on the way up to the hotel to go by Ryo's parents' place. It had been Usagi's suggestion to see if they would let him come by the house to pick up a few things. She had seen how much Ryo had been missing his cat and had been hoping that they would at least let him come pick her up. Hopes hadn't been high when the phone call had been made, but Setsuna had managed to negotiate them coming by. As long as it was a quick stop and go. It was clear whatever had set off the Urawa's and made Ryo leave was still agitating them.

Ryo's mother, a wiry woman with the same dark green hair as Ryo's, was the one to answer the door. Not looking the least pleased by their presence despite knowing they were coming. She opened the door to let them in reminding them to be quick about this, and she didn't have all day. Setsuna tried to keep her own disappointment in their arrival from being evident. She had been hoping maybe with a couple more days they would be more cordial. Apparently not.

Ryo's parents' attitude was momentarily forgotten a second later. The black ball of fur that was Naoko made a beeline for her owner as soon as they walked into the door. Ryo was more than happy to scoop up the cat after being unwillingly separated from her in the first place. And judging by the loud purring Naoko was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. Setsuna's lips quirked into a small smile glad if for nothing else they had made the detour for this reason. Ryo hadn't been smiling that much since he arrived at her apartment. As much he tried to write it off as being okay with being kicked out of his home it was obviously affecting him. So, to see him happily reunited with a cat was a happy sight to behold. Even if that quickly disappeared when it became apparent how things were still between him and his parents.

Though that smile quickly disappeared a few moments later. Ryo's things had already been packed away in a box that sat in the living room for him to go through and pick whatever he was going to take. The message was painfully clear to both of them. Even if they got Ryo's powers better under control, he wouldn't be allowed to come home not unless something drastically changed. This had been something Setsuna had suspected since the first day Ryo had shown up at her place. To have a confirmation did make her feel for Ryo though.

Taking Naoko from Ryo so he could gather what he wanted. Who let out a clear meow of protest. Setsuna gave the cat a reassuring scratch behind the ear. "Don't worry he'll be back shortly. Your coming with us. He just needs to get a few things." Maybe she was too used to talking to Luna and assuming she would be understood. Naoko seemed more content after she finished speaking.

Ryo needed to make sure he got whatever he truly wanted from this house. She had a feeling this would probably be the last time Ryo came home if the current state of affairs was anything to go by. Probably any remaining connection would be cut off at this point. There was the concern of what could happen if something did occur that usually would involve the parents. Even if the likelihood was down at this point. Ryo was over the age of majority for Japan so for most things he wouldn't need to consult them for. But there were a few things still out there. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much of a problem, or if it did, they would hopefully be able to get ahead of it.

Ryo's mother seemed to be giving her a side eye for a moment speaking to her for the first time. "Surprised the boy was able to find anyone willing to put up with his freakish abilities."

Setsuna frowned at that comment shifting Naoko slightly as she turned to face Ryo's mother. Naoko now hissing at the mother after the comment. Curious, Naoko appeared to be mad at Ryo's parents. The cat seemed to know exactly what was being said about her owner, almost uncannily so. Wondering for a moment if Naoko was a Teuan like Hercules and Megara. Something to confirm with Luna at a later point if they ever got introduced. Though there were probably a few different ways to verify it. Though none of them would be exactly easy…Setsuna responded. "Ryo's a nice boy. While his powers are maybe a bit unusual. They aren't necessarily 'freakish'." Moments like this was why she wished the more normal view of the Silver Alliance abilities were still around. Ryo and his abilities would have been welcomed back on Pluto, even without him being the apparent royal prince like he had been. Not scorned like they were here.

Naoko gave a mreow of seeming approval at her comment adding to the suspicion. Definitely, something to check out at a later time. Ryo emerged from the living room ready to leave apparent. His bag was full of a mix of cat things for Naoko and some personal things that he hadn't been able to grab on his way out the door the first time. Setsuna taking the bag from Ryo so he could take Naoko from her.

The walk back to the car was silent. Ryo's mother not even bothering with a real goodbye coming to the front door with them probably to just make sure they left without taking anything else. "Are you going to be all right Ryo?"

"Eventually." Ryo said turning his head away from the house his mother was standing in front of. Walking away from his childhood home was difficult. Despite how strained his relationship had been with his parents it was difficult. He had been hoping that with some help from Setsuna they might eventually come to accept his abilities. Today had made it quite clear that outside of a small miracle that was never going to happen.

* * *

"It's funny how this place hasn't really changed since we were kids." Naru said as they looked out on the lake that bordered the onsen they were all staying at. Her family and Usagi's family used to take this trip together once or twice a year during the holidays. Before everything else had happened, that had turned their lives upside down. She and her Mom had stopped going after they moved to Tokyo because it was no longer convenient as it used to be. Usagi and her family hadn't been up here since the Tohoku Quake.

"It feels so weird to be back here after all this time." Usagi said. It was nice to be back but after all this time…The last time she and her family had been here was before the winter holidays in 2010. A few short months before they would lose Shingo and have their lives turned upside down. Being here without Shingo seemed to only remind her of his absence. "It's nice to be back. It's just odd and sad. I keep expecting Shingo to half pop up somewhere without warning."

"I get what you mean. I keep expecting Dad to pop up somewhere and make some stupid corny joke." Naru said breaking into her own sad smile. The last time she had been up here was when he was still alive.

"I wonder how different things would be if we still had them." Usagi said after a moment. She had stopped to think about it before. About how the apartment she had shared with her parents wouldn't feel so lonely. Jade was beginning to fill the hole left by her brother's presence, but Jade was Jade, and Shingo had been Shingo. One couldn't replace the other, but she was glad Jade and her parents could help the other the way they could.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder just how different things would be if she had never been in the earthquake. Would she still have had the same team if she had grown up in Tokyo? Going by the way Setsuna sometimes talked the answer to that was probably no. Would her and the Inners have met earlier in this life? Would Minako still be trapezing around London? Would Yuki still be the bane of her existence if her life hadn't been so re-soundly changed by the Tohoku Quake? So many questions and so little answers to them.

"I think I agreed to this before I thought it really through." Hotaru said quietly as they got ready to enter the women's onsen. Okay, maybe that wasn't entirely true. She knew what she was getting into considering she had visited onsens with her parents when she was younger. But that had been before the fire and implants. And the wanting to hide her body from the public. Admittedly the only ones that were supposed to be there either were already aware of the situation in the case of her fellow senshi.

"You're worried about the others staring still?" Usagi asked turning to the younger girl. The others had already gone ahead to the bath, so it was just the two of them at the moment.

"I'm not so worried about Haruka and Michiru will react." Hotaru admitted after a moment of thought. "Or even Setsuna. But Naru- What if she hates me or thinks I'm a freak? And your mom, will she accept me?" Considering this was Usagi's mother they were talking about she wanted to believe she wouldn't get some disgusted reaction from her. She had probably seen things while Usagi was recovering and was less likely to have such a disgusted reaction. But she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"Well…" Usagi started to correct herself. "Naru hasn't been told so I think that they might startle her at first, but I think her reaction won't be much different than mine." Usagi said after a moment of thought. Sure, Hotaru's implants were rather unique, but Naru knew how sensitive she was to comments. So, she would know better than to be rude about it. "As for my Mom. She definitely knows better." The only one that might stare at first was Jade who had minimal experience with modern day technology let alone Hotaru's implants... And her Mom would probably scold her the minute she caught her. So that wouldn't last long.

"I almost wished we had all found each other sooner." Hotaru said quietly. "Maybe things would have been easier for both of us." She got why she might not have been awakened earlier. Saturn's awakening could cause issues. The fact was that Usagi had been in need of others as her support. Something they could provide as her senshi made her just wish some paths had crossed sooner.

"Without Naru, I would have been in a far darker place when Luna found me." Usagi confessed after a moment of thought. Or dead. Could she have survived Yuki's torment without the assistance of Naru? Sure, she would have had Umino, but that wasn't really the same. Naru had been her main support when she had been at Juuban. No Naru and well things got darker and more complicated a lot more quickly. Something she really didn't want to think about too much. Shaking her head after a moment trying to get off that train of thought. "As for us not finding each other sooner. Well, I guess things happen the way they did for a reason. In those two years from the quake to first meeting Haruka and Michiru, the only one that had her powers was Setsuna, and she was stuck at the Time Gates at the time." She wasn't entirely sure if she believed in the whole 'everything happened for a reason' thing, but she had to believe that there was some reason why they hadn't encountered each other sooner even as just civilians. "I wish one of us could have been there for you." Hotaru could have used the support about as much as she had. They would have both benefited from a slightly earlier awakening or just finding each other slightly sooner. As much as she may have disliked the idea that meant she would have been fighting the Dark Kingdom a lot longer... Hotaru thought it would be worth it.

"You two really have been through a lot together." Hotaru said quietly after a moment talking more about Naru. The more they talked, the more she began to understand why Usagi seemed to trust Naru so implicitly. For a while, outside of her parents, Naru had been all she had. "Maybe I'm over thinking the reaction to the implants…"

"My situation might not be quiet the same, but I do understand the want to hide the prosthetics." Usagi reminded her absent-minded tapping the aforementioned covered limbs. As long as she had to walk around with the words carved in, she would hate having them showing in public outside of school. At least she was finally getting to test out a new model at the program, but it would be a good couple of months before she was cleared to take them on a trip like this and hopefully be able to store the old ones in a closet for emergency purposes only.

"You really think it won't be a problem?" Hotaru asked again after a moment of silence. She knew she had asked Usagi that question a lot recently. But sometimes it was just hard to wrap her head around her unique looking implants not drawing stares or mean comments. No matter who exactly they were talking about. She wanted to believe in the best of other people. But at times it was just tricky.

"It will be fine. And if for some reason it isn't, neither of them is going to stop hearing it from me anytime soon." Usagi grumbled to herself. Honestly, she would be more shocked if there was a problem. It would be so unlike them.  _But_  she couldn't entirely blame Hotaru for going down this thought path. Hotaru knew her better then she knew Naru and her Mom. Even though at least with Naru they had some interaction with lunch she had no clue what their reactions would be.

* * *

Despite Hotaru's reservations once she was out in the bath area, she started to relax. No one in the group really drew attention to her limbs. And when no one did that she found she was, well maybe not entirely okay, but at least able to handle having them exposed a bit more than usual. Who knew how long she would last. For now, she was okay.

Hotaru was glad someone in the group had bucked up the money to have part of the onsen to themselves. Meaning at least here she wouldn't have to worry about complete strangers making comments or looking at her limbs. Now seeing that Usagi was right that the only other two who didn't know about them weren't drawing attention to the limbs other than a quick glance when they had first come out. Jade did seem to stare for a moment but quickly stopped after a couple words from Usagi's mom. She was actually starting to relax and enjoy the bath.

"The waters not a problem for the limbs?" Michiru mused. She had no problem having them uncovered if Hotaru seemed okay with it. While she had seemed a bit uncomfortable when she had first come out that seemed to be more with dealing with Naru and Usagi's mother's presence initially. When neither had made a move to make a comment about the implants she had started to relax.

"Not anymore. The earliest version had some issues. They've since worked them out." Hotaru winced a bit remembering the earliest days of having the implants. They had been a trying time not only because she was trying to recover from the fire. But because she was trying to learn to live with new body parts. "Actually, hot water tends to help more nowadays than hurt it."

Usagi moved to sit on Haruka's right-hand side. Only to end up being picked up by the older girl and plopped back down between her and Michiru. "Haruka." Usagi protested weakly with a blush adorning her cheeks. She spent plenty of time between the two of them as is with them helping her deal with the nightmares recently. And while she wasn't going to deny she felt maybe the safest when she was between the two of them for some reason she still didn't really understand. She didn't want her presence to accidentally drive a wedge between their relationship.

"We've been over this before kitten, your presence doesn't change anything." Haruka said reaching up and ruffling her hair slightly. At least not in a negative sense. If either of them had really thought that having Usagi as a constant presence by this point was a problem or a nuisance, it would have come out. At least in private. She knew she had no issues. Haruka was pretty sure if Michiru had some issues with this whole agreement by this point she would have voiced them already.

"Wonder how long before one of them admits it." Ikuko mused watching the three of them interact. Her daughter might not be ready to say it yet, but she was becoming more certain with the time that she felt something more than a friendship/kinship towards the other two. After all, regardless of why they were sharing a bed, that was still a thing that was happening.

Setsuna gave a surprised look to her, she hadn't expected that. There were only two people here that knew the truth about Serenity's relationship with those two and could know thanks to the Queen's acts during the final years of the Silver Alliance. And yet somehow Usagi's mother had managed to pick up on the undertone of that truth without knowing anything about the Silver Alliance.

"I'm her mother. I can see certain things." Ikuko said shaking her head seeing the surprised look Setsuna was giving her. Probably the biggest tell had been their behavior when the truth about what had happened at Juuban had come out. Some people regardless of their loyalty may have abandoned or turned on someone after finding out what had happened. No matter how horrifying that thought might be. Yet if anything they had seemed to have gotten more protective of her as a result.

Maybe they would just remain friends, but she wouldn't exactly be shocked if at some point Usagi ended up with one or both of them. To her, it seemed obvious that Usagi had a crush on them.

"You're a better mother then some others I've met then." Setsuna said quietly being careful not to name names. There was at least one case where she could have sworn the girls could have flirted blatantly in front of the Queen and did a few times to her knowledge. Queen Serenity was in such denial she refused to really see what was in front of her.

"I'm afraid to ask for clarification." Ikuko admitted after a moment. She was certain that Setsuna must have some interesting stories to tell about things she had seen considering what she remembered hearing about the green-haired woman. Considering what the woman had seen and lived through and how long she had lived Ikuko wasn't so sure she wanted to hear all those stories, especially if some may involve unpleasantness involving her daughter's past life. Ikuko suspected they did. The stories Usagi would tell as a child of some moon kingdom. The places, the people, the things they all thought were imagined... and the changes since she'd begun to remember that life now. No. Ikuko suspected there were some questions she knew had unpleasant answers; Answers that promised to be very unpleasant and perhaps even heartbreaking if the nightmares that started before, she moved out were anything to go by.

"I could not tell you even if you asked." Setsuna said giving her a sad smile. If she spoke in vague enough terms, she might be able to let it slip by. But there was no guarantee, so it was best to go the route of thinking she couldn't tell Ikuko even that. Like she couldn't tell the others of so many other things they were missing from their past lives. Setsuna shook her head and inquired. "Regardless, would be okay if the three of them did end up together?"

"Kenji and I just want her to be safe and happy. If that is what makes her happy, then we are happy for her happiness." Ikuko said shaking her head. Sure, she would love to have grandchildren. But her actual child came first.

Setsuna briefly wondered what might have been if this woman had been Queen of the Moon, High Queen of the Silver Alliance and mother of the Princess Serenity. How different might things have been with such a person as queen and mother to her princess to start with? Setsuna blinked away the image that brought in her mind. It was pointless to wonder about such things. There was no changing what was back then. Some places in time could not be changed and some things period and this was one of them. Her princess, through reincarnation, had been blessed with the mother she always should have had to begin with and that was enough for Setsuna on that matter.

* * *

"How are you handling things back here?" Michiru was the one to ask once the trio was back in the room were sharing. Usagi had seemed happy in a sense and maybe a bit melancholy most of the day, but Michiru was worried as Usagi had proven time and time again that when she absolutely wanted to, she could hide what she was feeling.

"Only good memories." Usagi said trying to give a reassuring smile. Though the fact that there was nothing to haunt her didn't mean she wasn't worried that something or another might still pop up. It just might not be Shingo or the Moon Kingdom. "How do you two handle the dreams anyway?" Usagi asked changing the subject to something she had always wondered about. She assumed they had to dream on occasion about the time as senshi during the Silver Alliance. Usagi had no clue how good or bad their memories of their time as senshi were, but she couldn't imagine the idea of serving an outpost with no company outside of the occasional attack being anything other than being painfully lonely. Usagi felt a pang in her heart imagining Michiru and Haruka kept in such lonely situations.

"Don't worry about it too much." Haruka said reaching out and ruffling Usagi's hair slightly before Michiru could answer. "It was mostly just quiet out there. It was a rare day when we had to deal with anything from beyond and more so something that could be a real threat. Most of what we remember was boring." Well outside of their deaths but considering Usagi already remembered that but that was the only exception really. Up until the very end, it had been quiet. There had been random attacks on occasion but no full-scale invasion attempts. Maybe if they had had more experience, they would have been better ready for when the Dark Kingdom's army had finally come knocking. "Besides, we each had a handful of guards to assist us, so we weren't completely alone." Although, Haruka's face became shadowed for a moment and Usagi could not help but think they had still been lonely.

"There had to have been a better way to protect the outer rim without leaving people mostly alone for years on end." Usagi thought out loud. A better way than sending people off to live on their own for a couple of centuries at a time. After all, they had managed to survive once the Senshi rotated back towards royal duties. The posts weren't always completely occupied so there was apparently something there. She just didn't know what. She got that being a senshi was a right of passage for the Inner and Outer Courts. But was doing it the way they had back then the best way to pull it off. If there had to be a next generation of senshi, as much as she hated to entertain the thought, she didn't want the next Uranus and Neptune to suffer the same loneliness they had.

"We'll figure out something." Michiru agreed after a moment. If it came down to it, they would go back there to protect Earth and their princess, but if there was an alternative why not?

Michiru cracked a small smile as she realized Usagi had drifted off at some point her light snores giving it away. Usagi had been steadily improving since the hospital visit, but she still had a way to go before her energy levels returned to anywhere close to normal. So, it really didn't surprise her that Usagi had drifted off before either of them had realized it.

"Does she even dream happy dreams anymore?" Michiru asked more to herself than to Haruka keeping her voice quiet to prevent waking Usagi a frown now crossing her face. It seemed like a lot of Usagi's dreams centered around unhappy subjects. The fall of the Moon, Yuki, the boys, Shingo, among other things. She hoped that whatever peace they were helping to bring the girl also brought happier dreams with it. To constantly bear that weight unending... Michiru could not accept such a terrible fate for Usagi.

"She has to. Not everything she knows was unhappy after all." Haruka said trying to be optimistic about the situation. From what they knew of Usagi's childhood before the Tohoku quake it had been a normal happy one. Meaning not everything about her life had been a depressing, stressful mess.

* * *

Haruka was the one roused a couple of hours later by the closing of the bathroom door. And then followed shortly after by the sound of someone throwing up. A quick glance told her what she already really knew. Usagi was no longer in the bed which meant Usagi had had a bad nightmare. Careful not to wake Michiru for the moment she went into the bathroom herself finding Usagi kneeling over the toilet.

"I thought you said they were getting better." Haruka asked getting down next to her while helping pull Usagi's hair back away from her face as she kept vomiting for a bit. Admittedly she hadn't seen the girl need to vomit over a possible dream since right after she had recovered her Moon Kingdom's memories. But considering how long she had hidden from them how bad they were. It was possible they just didn't know about another instance.

"Thanks." Usagi said leaning back after a moment as her stomach finally calmed a bit. Resting a bit on Haruka. She didn't want to get up quite yet afraid that her stomach might have plans for another go. Tonight had brought up a couple of disturbing realizations about Serenity's finals hours that she hadn't really accepted before. And this was the result of that new information.

"Hey, we're here to help. Regardless of what kind of help that is." Haruka reminded her. Including helping Usagi when the nightmares got so bad, they apparently caused her to get sick. At least she was assuming that was what caused Usagi to get sick.

"I have not dreamed anything that bad in a while. I don't know why it came back tonight." Usagi said after a moment crossing her arms over her stomach. She should have known that it was only a matter of time before a nightmare happened with or without the others help. Usagi had been hoping that they wouldn't happen within their presence. Considering before they had been almost a nightly occurrence up until the hospital incidence she didn't suppose once like this in a week was so horrible compared. She closed her eyes after a second leaning back and slightly into Haruka even more. "Tonight, I think it was made worse because I realized some rather horrifying things that I hadn't before." She hadn't thrown up since the first night. So, it was what made sense to her.

"Want to talk about it?" Haruka asked after a moment. So far, the answer had always been no. But it was best to ask. Eventually, Usagi had to be comfortable enough to discuss it. Hopefully.

Usagi found herself hesitating at first. She had kept most of that night close to her chest. For one, talking about what had happened that night was painful to think about let alone put into words. For two, she was still concerned that sharing might lead to the others getting nightmares. But then again currently outside of Luna, Haruka was the only one who knew so far that Serenity had been pregnant. She hadn't told any of the others that, not even Setsuna. Though she had a feeling that Setsuna probably knew. Maybe if she hedged it a bit and didn't tell her everything. "Did you know that once a Sailor Crystal is formed it means parents and children can feel each other through a bond? Kind of like the one we have but different."

Haruka silently shook her head. That wasn't something she remembered learning. "I didn't either until tonight." Usagi softly confessed. "Her twins were far enough along that they had their own Sailor Crystals and a bond with her. Not only were they aware of Serenity's pain despite her trying to protect them from it but she was aware of everything they felt and the fact they were still alive up until-" Usagi found herself unable to continue at that point. It had been a horrifying, sickening moment when she had realized just how long those twins had hung on for. And just what they had somehow survived up until that one moment. She had known for a while that they had been alive up until shortly before Serenity's death. But it was only now she was beginning to realize that they had felt most of what Serenity had and her them.

There was a short silence that passed between them before Haruka spoke. As the horrifying implications of what Usagi had said started to sink in. To feel your own children dying horribly like what had been implied by Usagi… Haruka's arms tightened around Usagi holding her more closely. "It's okay. You don't need to say more." It was just a step forward in the right direction that Usagi had finally said something, anything about that horrible night.

"Thanks." Usagi mumbled into her shirt after a moment. Maybe one day she would be ready to talk about some of what Serenity had experienced in her dying hours. Not all of it of course, because she was still worried that those moments might give everyone else nightmares, but maybe small bits of it. Today was quite obviously not that day. What had already been said was already a bit much for Usagi.

* * *

"What was growing up on the Outer planets like?" Usagi asked the next day. She was curious about how things may have been different for the other four. How things might have been handled differently. The Inner Guardians and herself had practically grown up together. Most of their childhood had been spent on the Moon, but on occasion, she had traveled to the other girl's respective planets to spend time with the different courts.

She had a feeling that with them it was different. They hadn't really grown up or trained together. Well maybe trained together wasn't an apt choice since she had had never trained with her Inner Guardians. She had never been intended to become a Sailor Senshi in that period. She had watched from afar at times. She had never gotten to see the Outer Senshi in her time train, so she was kind of curious about the differences between the two courts. Had they even trained together with the Inner Senshi or one another at all?

"Difficult." Hotaru answered after a moment. "There was a lot of superstition involving being the senshi of death and rebirth. Despite it being a hereditary job and the knowledge that there always was a Sailor Saturn in some form. A lot of people outside of my own family had always seemed uneasy around first my mother and then myself growing up. Afraid, almost as if the wrong thing being said would lead to their deaths. A stupid misconception but one that seemed to be held by quite a few of those on even my own planet."

Even during the brief period when she had been interacting with Haruka and Michiru's past selves helping to guard Serenity before she had entered the slumber, they had been initially uneasy around her despite probably having had more than one lecture about the subject of how much danger she could possess to another person. Much like in this lifetime, once they knew her, that uneasiness had dissipated but that initial time had been awkward and difficult for all three of them.

That wasn't even touching on the difficulty of being Sailor Saturn. Becoming Sailor Saturn while being a necessary job was always one wrought with a strange amount of peril. The knowledge that while she would usually sleep and never face battle. The chance still being there that she may be called in and thus given the order to use her world ending attack. Taking herself with it.

She had known that even if she had managed to get through her entire service without being called upon there was a chance that she could still have been called upon by the Queen to do her bidding. Up until the next generation, Saturn awoke and took up the mantle. Technically all the senshi could even after entering 'retirement' but her being brought out of retirement had a whole different meaning than when compared to her fellow senshi. She was the only one being brought back into service almost certainly meant her death. Michiru's hand on her shoulder, squeezing, reminded her that things were different in this moment than they had ever been for her before in that life. Even in this one, she had always been a little different. Hotaru was reminded that she now belonged somewhere. She hadn't felt that since her mother died.

"Lonely." Setsuna said after a moment. She wasn't sure how the others upbringing had gone, but since she had been taken for training at a young age, her exposure to others besides her trainers had been limited. She suspected it was a similar story with Haruka and Michiru. Limit interactions with the princess to help prepare them for the long years of loneliness that came with living at the outposts. "I was taken from my family very young to have my training as the next Sailor Pluto." That had meant being under the tutelage of the previous Pluto at the Time Gates for several years. While she had at least had company at that point... It still had been difficult at times.

Usagi winced slightly at that as it started to show just how much difficulty the title of being an Outer Senshi being showed in those few words. It was a sharp contrast to her own childhood that she could recall. Someone always seemed to be around at the time whether it be one of the Inner Senshi or a castle hand. There was always someone around it had felt like. Probably the most challenging part growing up had been the distant relationship between the Queen and Serenity, that the Queen was untouchable even to her own daughter. Even then she had made up for her loneliness through her friends. It had still hurt to have things that way, but she wasn't lonely.

Usagi found herself wondering, not for the first time, why protecting the outer parts of their solar system meant isolating their own senshi. They're had to be a better way to do this. Usagi wouldn't believe otherwise. She had no clue what the future held or if there would be a next generation of senshi needed at some point, but she wasn't going to let them have the same fate.

"It sounds like you were trained from a younger age then we were." Haruka noted a bit surprised responding to some comment Usagi had missed. Her and Michiru hadn't started training in senshi duties until they were around 10 or 11 by Terran equivalent. Something about the way Setsuna talked made it sound like she had been at even for a longer period.

"I was. Usually, once someone in the next generation becomes time-sensitive enough to stand out from their peers, they start training as the next generation, Sailor Pluto. I stood out from a young age, even by our planet's standards. I started earlier than even most Plutos, and we are often trained younger, to begin with." Setsuna admitted after a moment.

"There has got to be a better way to do this." Usagi said, her heart breaking for her senshi. The other senshi weren't tethered to their posts usually outside of times of war and the time they were generally expected to serve. They were future queens after all and eventually expected to take up the throne. So, the outposts while guarded didn't have Sailor Senshi manning them 24/7 like the Time Gates did if she remembered correctly. The fact that the length of time a Pluto could serve wasn't a constant didn't sit well. There had to be another way around it. She wouldn't believe otherwise.

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Setsuna said. Somehow, she knew if anyone would figure out a way around this. A way to make the Time Gates permanently guarded but not result in social isolation of the next generations of Sailor Plutos, so they weren't forever in limbo waiting for the next generation to come into power it would be Usagi to find it. If anyone could find a way to lighten the burdens of any of the posts, she had no doubt Usagi would find it.

* * *

"How's settling in with my parents going?" Usagi asked Jade that evening. Having the moment to even ask was rare, and she genuinely wanted to check on the girl. She hadn't really had a chance to talk to her soon to be younger sister outside of a few circumstances.

"It's been hard. They're nice, and I like being with them. I know they miss my 'brother' and I miss my 'parents' and sometimes it's difficult to remember for me at least that they won't ever come back. Ikuko-Mama has brought up taking me to see Shingo's grave sometime. I kind of wish I could take you to where my parents were buried." Jade confessed after a moment. "It hurts, no one knows what happened to them." Just the idea she would never really know for sure what had happened after her own memories ended hurt more than anything else.

"I'm sorry. I wish we knew." Usagi said. She felt terrible that Jade might never know what really happened to her parents and home. Were there any records left of Elysian and its people Usagi wondered? It seemed much like the Moon Kingdom had vanished from history and with it the other planetary kingdoms including the old Earth Kingdom. It would be nice to give Jade and others they would hopefully find like her closure to what had happened after they became youma. Was it even possible to do that? Usagi wished she knew. Either way, she planned to find out.

"Ikuko-mama and Kenji-papa are nice." Jade confessed. Usagi's parents weren't ever going to fill the hole of the loss of her own parents, but then they weren't pretending to erase them either. She was encouraged to talk about them. Jade never expected to fill the hole that was left by what would have been her brother's death, but then never did it feel like they wanted her to. Jade was her own person, and they made it clear the same way Shingo could not be replaced, neither could she replace her parents. "I still miss them."

"I don't think we're ever meant to stop missing the people embedded in our hearts. Our family is just like that. I think you'll always miss them, but that's OK. We'll be with you all the way." Usagi spoke softly, placing her arms around Jade as they sat there in the hot springs under the stars. "I'm just glad you get along and can be there for one another. I haven't been there for them lately so, please be there."

"Nep-Masato." Jade corrected herself. "Said that there weren't many people who could take me in. Because of my 'unique situation'."

"Still having difficulty not calling him by his former name?" Usagi asked. There was a reason why Jade hadn't gone too much out in public yet. Partly there was the concern that she might slip and draw unwanted attention by asking questions or calling someone by the wrong name. So much had changed since Elysian had fallen both on how Earth and its cities looked.

The cultural changes were massive. Jade came from a very different time period, and the concern had been that if she was exposed too quickly, she might get severe cultural shock. This trip to the hot springs had been allowed because it was figured to be less overwhelming.

Jade nodded her head. Light green curls bouncing slightly at the motion. "I know he doesn't go by that name anymore. It's just hard at times, especially when he looks the same, but he's changed since my last memories." Jade admitted after a moment. That didn't surprise Usagi in the least. Working for the Dark Kingdom would change a person. Even if he had been cleansed of evil, there were bound to be side effects. So, Jade's comment wasn't all that surprising when you stopped to think about it. "So many people look the same but aren't. So much has changed."

"I heard Naru looks a lot like her past self." Usagi admitted after a moment having a feeling Jade was referencing Naru and her past self. Not just the former generals. It had only been brought up a couple of times. But the way Masato spoke the resemblance between them was strong.

"She does. Naru is younger, and she acts slightly different than Ruby did." Probably due to their different upbringings Usagi thought. Naru had had a good upbringing, but she certainly hadn't had any princess training etiquette in this life. She had never had a reason too. "But other than that…" Jade trailed off. The similarity between Naru and the Princess she had once served was undeniable to anyone who had met both of them.

* * *

The last night of the trip coincided with Usagi's birthday. For the first time in a couple of years, Usagi was genuinely into the celebrations. The previous two years had come at a difficult time. The mood had been a much more subdued affair. This year there was no dark cloud hanging over it, and she was genuinely enjoying it. More than once Usagi would check behind her because she could almost swear, she heard Shingo's voice but when she turned to look no one would be there. 'Happy birthday odango atama!' She could have sworn she'd heard and then nothing. A laugh would sound, and she'd find one of her friends and not her brother there instead. In its way, if she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend he was at least here in spirit and that her family was once again whole even if she knew when she opened them the illusion would be shattered. It was bittersweet.

"What are you thinking?" Naru asked coming out of the bigger room to the balcony Usagi was standing on for a moment as the party was starting to wind down now. She had stepped out for a moment to enjoy the fresh air and one last long view of the lake at night. Tomorrow it was back to Sankakusu and the reality of fighting youma and the Dark Kingdom on a daily basis.

"Just thinking how this is really the first 'happy' birthday I've had in a while." Usagi answered. It was probably the first actual 'happy' birthday she had had since she was 12. Her 13th birthday had been while she was still in the hospital recovering from the earthquake. Grieving over Shingo and just trying to come to terms with what had happened didn't exactly make 'happy birthday' happen. Last year hadn't been much better. The rape had occurred only a few weeks before her 14th birthday. She had still been in too dark a place to be even a little happy despite her parents' attempts to make it a happy occasion on her 14th birthday. There were still things lurking around corners, the worry about the people behind the snuff film amongst it but this was the first time she found herself genuinely enjoying her birthday again in years.

"The last couple of years have been rough." Naru agreed before leaning on the balcony and looking out at the lake. "Maybe this is a sign things are getting better ya know?" For the most part. There were still some bumps in the road to get through. Usagi's duties among other things, the threat against her life, but things had improved from last year. Which had been a very subdued affair when compared to this.

"Yes. I feel the road ahead may be difficult, but maybe it will be better this way, with everyone now. I never would have thought that Luna finding me would be a good thing. I felt... so useless. Sometimes I still do." Usagi said to Naru glancing back at where she knew the cat was. "But without her, I don't know where I would be right now. Luna has become important to me as much as you and my parents. There are more people adding to my heart and more people I feel the wish to protect. I have to think. If the Dark Kingdom takes this planet, then it takes Naru, Luna, Mom, Dad, Jade, Michiru, Ryo, Haruka, Motoki, Makoto, Setsuna, Hotaru-" Silent arms wrapped around her waist cutting her off from listing any more names. Hotaru, whose arms remained around her silently, Usagi's arm reaching to hold her hands where they rested around her as she looked down with a smile before looking back up at Naru softly. This was what she protected. These people, more than anything, this is what she wanted to protect.

How different things might have been if even one thing had been different. Too many disturbing questions to entertain them all. Would she and Naru been separated due to the issues she had been having at Juuban? What would have that meant if she had lost her only protector there? It was a path she really didn't want to think much about.

"Sometimes the best things come in the most unexpected packages. They've been as good for you as you have been for them." Naru noted smiling warmly. "You're smiling a lot more since you found them. I suspect it goes both ways Usagi." Hotaru nodded into her back and Usagi could see Naru's nod at the girl after she felt Hotaru nod into her back and her arms tighten ever so slightly.

It was an improvement from last year where Naru felt like Usagi's smile had disappeared. The reverse, it seemed, was also true. Hotaru was maybe the biggest example of the group having changed as a result of Usagi. Clearly, by the way, Hotaru was silently holding onto Usagi looking for all the world like she was holding back tears and never wanting to let go... clearly this was reflected in her eyes at this moment.

"Please don't cry." Usagi said turning around to hug a now shaking Hotaru. When Luna had walked into her life almost six months ago it had seemed like nothing good could come of it. But then again, she couldn't have imagined the things that being Sailor Moon could bring her.

Silence settled for a moment as Naru came closer to pat the younger girls back as she shook in Usagi's arms. The only sound that could be heard for a moment was the soft attempts to be silent in her tears, failing to hold it all in. It was like a dam had burst, emotion pouring forth, yet like a whisper in the night. A powerful whisper.

The silence settles for a moment before a tear stoked whisper could be heard. Hotaru's voice becoming steadily stronger towards the end. "Usagi. I will protect you. I will become stronger, and I will protect you!"

End Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week. We will be back on the 18th with chapter 32.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or comment. They always make my day.
> 
> Preview for Chapter 32:
> 
> It had been almost a week since they had returned from the trip to the mountains. Things had been quiet. Zoisite was still reporting in to them about new developments but there hadn't been any new developments since mamoru's brainwashing and discovering Jade. Right now, the focus was trying to find more like Jade, but they hadn't had success and things were in a lull. The quiet could not last forever.
> 
> Michiru was the one to answer the door when the bell rang. Who could be dropping in on such short notice? She wondered. None of them had been expecting visitors. While visitors were welcome the people they knew at least texted them to say they were on their way over.
> 
> "Mamiko?" Michiru frowned a bit confused by the sudden visit of her older sister. This was a bit odd. While she didn't mind a visit from Mamiko, especially as things started to get smoother between the two of them, usually Mamiko showed up with a reason. Last time she had heard from her was just a few hours ago. At that time, she had been told there hadn't been any new developments. By the look her sisters face that had definitely changed. Something was wrong.
> 
> Mamiko seemed to grapple for a moment trying to figure out how to say something. "Misako's missing." Mamiko finally said. And just like that the world shifted.
> 
> And that's a wrap for now. See you on the 18th!


	32. Trials and Tribulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey everyone welcome to this week. A bit later then normal again. But I've been sick so I was out for part of the afternoon.
> 
> Anyways thanks as always to Tsukikageshi for betaing.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or comment at the end.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 32

Trials and Tribulations

It had been almost a week since they had returned from the trip to the mountains. Things had been quiet. Zoisite was still reporting in to them about new developments, but there hadn't been any new developments since Mamoru's brainwashing and discovering Jade. Right now, the focus was trying to find more like Jade, but they hadn't had success, and things were in a lull. The quiet could not last forever.

Michiru was the one to answer the door when the bell rang. Who could be dropping in on such short notice? She wondered. None of them had been expecting visitors. While visitors were welcome the people, they knew at least texted them to say they were on their way over.

"Mamiko?" Michiru frowned a bit confused by the sudden visit of her older sister. This was a bit odd. While she didn't mind a visit from Mamiko, especially as things started to get smoother between the two of them, usually Mamiko showed up with a reason. Last time she had heard from her was just a few hours ago. At that time, she had been told there hadn't been any new developments. By the look, her sisters face that had definitely changed. Something was wrong.

Mamiko seemed to grapple for a moment trying to figure out how to say something. "Misako's missing." Mamiko finally said. And just like that, the world shifted.

* * *

Michiru had quickly let Mamiko inside, and now the two were trying to swap what little information they had on Misako's disappearance. "Mother and father said she's been missing since the day of the graduation ball." Mamiko answered after a moment. It had taken what felt like an eon to find out what they knew about Misako's disappearance. She wasn't even surprised their parents tried to cover it up instead of reporting it. That didn't change how incomprehensible it was. Misako had been missing for weeks now, and no one knew where she was. Her own parents hadn't even reported her missing because they were more afraid there image would be affected than for their daughter's wellbeing. Misako's sisters only now knew she was even missing, and only now could they look for her. Weeks after the fact. She could be dead and cold somewhere, and they had no leads.

"You haven't heard from her either?" Mamiko asked, clearly grasping at the possibility Misako had run away.

The answer was plain to see before Michiru even spoke. "No. I hadn't heard from her since before the graduation ball, and I was getting worried. I thought there was a possibility that our parents had taken away her privileges again." Michiru admitted shaking her head. She should have done something different. Try calling her parents and asking what Misako had done this time maybe. Though who knew if she had tried if they would even answer the phone…

Mamiko cringed. That was true, and while a few weeks without phone contact was a bit much even for their parents, it wasn't the first time they had pulled something like that. "Considering her last known location, I'm wondering if your early suspicion about the Princess Seminar was actually a youma plot was correct. Since if the Dark Kingdom isn't involved…"

"Then that speaks of something extremely troubling." Michiru continued seeing where Mamiko was going with her train of thought. If the Dark Kingdom wasn't involved, then that meant Misako had run away. The idea of her running away without justifiable cause wasn't something she could see happening.

Something had happened, whether it was the Dark Kingdom itself or something their parents had done. If it was the later, then things had just gotten even further complicated in the Kaioh household, not that the lack of reporting didn't already do that, to begin with. Misako was under the age of majority. She wouldn't be classified as old enough to really make her own decisions for another three years and because of the lack of reporting, if they didn't find her, then their parents would be the first to be suspected of an unspeakable crime, doing away with their own daughter. They were many things but being murderers was not one of them.

Mamiko was a mess falling to her knees on the floor and shaking she confessed the chilling truth to Michiru. "When someone goes missing there is a window of time the chances of finding them alive inexplicably shrink. The first 24- 48 hours are important. Our parents didn't report her missing for weeks. She could be anywhere in the world! The trail could be cold! If she ran away or if she was taken, we don't know. What if she ran away and then was taken? Why wouldn't she call one of us otherwise?! If it was the Dark Kingdom, then what happens to someone they have taken? Will they kill her? Turn her into a monster like Jade? Will, she wake up and find us long dead wondering-?!" She broke off and broke down unable to form coherent words.

"We need to go back to the Princess Seminar." Michiru concluded kneeling down and pulling her sister into a hug, speaking more calmly than she felt. She hated this idea. Usagi was the only one who could get in without restarting the process. The only one with any hope of finding anything about where Misako was. Was she scared? Had she been waiting for a rescue that never came because no one reported her missing? Please don't let her be dead! They had to find Misako!

The last thing Michiru wanted was to let Usagi anywhere near that program again, even if Yuki was now graduated from it, but if they didn't then, it would be three more weeks before they knew anything more about her little sister's disappearance. She doubted Usagi would back out of this once she became aware of the situation, so they just needed to try and make the best of what they were being dealt. "Do you think you could pull some strings and get us into the Princess Seminar with Usagi?"

"I'll see what I can do." Mamiko said. She wasn't sure what she could do, but she was going to at least try to make the situation for them returning.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Luna asked a second time as Usagi was getting ready before Usagi and Michiru headed out to the Friday evening class. Once Michiru had brought up the situation Usagi had readily agreed to return to finish out to see if they could find Misako or at least a lead to find her, hopefully alive. Luna knew it had been Usagi's decision to come back to finish the class. Despite her initial stance on the program, after everything that had occurred the first time around, she wasn't going to deny being slightly nervous about the decision to go back this. No matter what the cause of the return was.

"I'm sure about this. I mean I think everyone's worried but... Misako was kind. Is kind. What if it's the Dark Kingdom? What if it's people like who took that girl? If I can help find her, I have to." Usagi pointed out sensing Luna's underlying concern. There shouldn't be any more danger to Usagi after Yuki's departure from the program, but then there shouldn't have been any danger to Misako either. It also didn't change what had happened last time. Even if it wasn't their fault what Yuki had done and continued to threaten to do. That didn't even touch on the Yuki related stuff that had gone on and why Usagi had stayed away, out of fear it would happen again.

"I know that we can't walk away." Luna confessed. Walking away had vanished the minute Mamiko had shown up at the apartment. Her best guess on the subject on why she was even second guessing this was that it had something to deal with the program being tied to Usagi's closest brush with death in the time she had known her. Perhaps some of her own guilt over the previous situation starting to resurface had something to do with it as well, but she worried, regardless Luna simply wanted Usagi safe and happy. She felt she bore a good portion of the responsibility for what had happened the last time. No matter how necessary she had felt Usagi going into the program at the start of it. Luna felt that had she not pushed Usagi to join it for her own reasons then maybe Usagi might not have been hurt, to begin with, and maybe that girl might not have died either. It didn't change that they had almost lost Usagi because of what happened. Sure, it had seemed necessary at the time but how necessary was anything that risked dear sweet Usagi's life.

"It's alright Luna. I can't run forever." Usagi said scratching Luna behind the ear in reassurance. Most of her anger and frustration towards the idea of attending the program had faded well before everything had happened. Usagi didn't blame Luna for what had happened with either video. No one could have predicted Yuki's actions. The reality was that the video of her assault would have probably surfaced at some point even without the program.

Usagi felt tired and worn like the world rested on her shoulders. No matter how much she might not feel completely comfortable in the program. Though at least she wouldn't be completely alone this time. Mamiko had managed to get Michiru enrolled with her. That made the situation a bit more bearable at least.

"Besides even if this all hadn't happened. We would have ended up here." Usagi pointed out. It felt like all the paths they had taken and could have taken seemed to lead them back to the Princess Seminar.

* * *

Of course, Michiru's decision did draw curious looks when they arrived Friday night before classes were supposed to start. Usagi suspected that they hadn't expected to be dealing with two Kaiohs in such a short time frame and with Michiru already 'finished' her training it was irregular, although not unheard of.

Thankfully Michiru was able to deflect most of the questions as playing it off as mostly curiosity based on what she had heard from others. "I heard some of the good things from Usagi and Misako." That was true even if curiosity wasn't the driving force behind her enrolling alongside Usagi. "I understand I won't get to experience the full curriculum."

"Well if you really are curious then I won't stop you from attending alongside her." Countess Rose decided. As long as the fees were paid, and no more trouble was raised she had no reason to deny either of them attending. Though she didn't understand the reasoning why but then again it never felt like she had really understood humans.

* * *

_Serenity was lost in thought as she whirled across the dance floor between partners and songs. She missed Triton, she missed Neptune, she missed maybe most of all having something that felt like an actual family. Rhode's family had become her own as much as they had been Rhode's. The Inners…she loved them, but it wasn't the same. She had a sense of belonging back on Neptune that she sorely missed partly due to her own mother._

_It was funny how the castle that had once upon a time felt cramped and lonely to her was what she missed the most right now._ _Serenity_ _knew there was no way she could slip away to the teleporters without someone catching on. This was her homecoming ball. They would notice her absence._ _E_ _ven if she did go back, they wouldn't be there. They were supposed to have left for the outposts this morning. She didn't even notice at first who her new dance partner until they spoke. "Got a lot on your mind kitten?"_

_Serenity looked up in surprise meeting Theia's gray eyes her facing lighting up though she was a bit confused. Theia and Rhode weren't supposed to be here_ _! T_ _hat didn't stop the joy at seeing them_ _!_ _Theia put her a finger to her lip quieting her before she could accidentally reveal them being there. "Rho's using some illusion magic to cover up us being here. I think Venus or one of the other Inners is backing her magic, so your mother doesn't realize we're here. We don't have long. We just wanted a chance to say proper goodbye since we were cut off." The three of them seeing each other was going to be complicated from here on out. Persephone had said she would assist in taking Serenity to them and vice versa._ _T_ _hey were still going to have to be careful that no one they couldn't trust would find out._ _Her mother could not find out._

" _I've missed you both. Two days felt more like an_ _eternity_ _." Serenity said making sure to keep her voice low, so passersby wouldn't be overheard. She had no clue how she was going to get by_ _the separation let alone_ _keeping this from her mother. It had all seemed simpler when they were back on Neptune. She would never regret her decision regarding them,_ _yet_ _a trying time lay ahead. "Where's Mare?" She needed to see them both again before the castle went back on lockdown._

" _Waiting her turn over in a corner." Theia said making a jerky nod in a direction behind Serenity. Rhode was standing where she was to make sure she didn't accidentally draw attention from the Queen. They would swap when the number ended. And then head back to the outposts shortly after. The longer they were gone, the more they risked being discovered._ _T_ _heir time was limited._

" _I wish this didn't have to end." Serenity said quietly as the song seemed to wind down. Signaling she would probably have to part ways with Theia soon and then Rhode once they had their dance._

" _It's only temporary kitten remember that. Eventually, your mother will retire, and we will be able to live happily as we want. Nothing she can do can change that." Theia reminded her._

" _I know that." Serenity said giving her a sad smile. Even if she had her doubts that there wasn't anything her mother really could do. She just had to get through the trying time_ _a_ _nd hope that her mother didn't somehow discover the truth before then._ _A_ _s_ _Serenity's_ _own hair served_ _to_ _remind her_ _, such_ _would not end well._

Usagi woke up with a jolt a moment later. Trying to process the memory and there was a lot to process there. The more she seemed to see of it the more she was starting to believe that Serenity's relationship with the other two princesses seemed like it was  _more_. Usagi still couldn't quite recall anything else that would say for certain who they had been to her. A lot of subtle nuances at the very least did seem to suspiciously point that way. Some part of her felt like she already knew the answer to the question of who they were to Serenity. If that was the case…then why couldn't she remember for certain what they had?

"Nightmare?" Haruka asked bringing her out of her thoughts. She hadn't even realized the others were awake. The question wasn't unwarranted while the nightmares were less common around them. There were still a few that slipped through on occasion. Thankfully this wasn't one of those occasions.

Usagi shook her head. "Not this time. It was just a ball on the Moon after the rebellion ended. Nothing overly special this time." Well other than maybe adding to her confusion about what the other two had been to Serenity or suspicions.

"You seem to be in a lot of thought for 'just a ball'." Michiru noted she could almost see the other girl quirking an eyebrow in doubt even if she was facing Haruka at the moment.

"It was just a passing thought, I guess. Serenity was thinking of something that suggested her hair wasn't naturally a clash of blonde and silver." Usagi said deciding to focus on the other curious part of her memory for the moment. No matter what may or may have not been in the past with the other two, she didn't have a relationship in the present day with them. And she didn't want to bring the topic up in case it ruined what they did have. So, focusing on the other thought about Serenity's curious hair was a safe place to go at least.

"It is curious that your hair had already started to change before the fall." Luna spoke up. "Most Ginzishou users hair color don't start changing until they come into their heritage. Since your mother was the ruler at the time yours should have still been blond. It is curious that you had traces of silver in your hair before you would have been using it." Luna explained jaw cracking slightly in a yawn. She wasn't entirely sure why Serenity would have a mix instead of just one solid hair color based on what she remembered there was no reason for it to be that way. Probably another thing she was forgetting.

"That might have been the Queen's fault." Usagi admitted after a moment elaborating. "I don't know what exactly happened. Serenity's thoughts didn't stray down that path very long. But she was worried about her finding out something. Since the last time something similar had happened, it ended badly and had changed her hair."

"If the Queen lost her temper it wouldn't be that much of a stretch for there to be a connection." Luna admitted wincing slightly. Considering what she had seen on the Moon the night, it fell well- as much as she would hate to admit it there was a possibility that hadn't been the first time the Queen had hurt her daughter in some fashion. "Do you actually remember anything like that though?" The obvious incident aside.

Usagi shook her head after thinking. "No, I don't remember her doing something like that at all." Usagi admitted after a moment. "Honestly I don't have a lot of memories with her in them at all. I wouldn't be shocked if I just haven't processed something yet." As shown by tonight's memory she still didn't have a full grasp on all her memories from the Moon Kingdom. Some things were still popping up without much warning. Usagi would have thought she would have gotten past this stage already.

For Michiru, it wasn't the most shocking revelation considering what she had known in the past. Serenity had made a comment to her past self that Serenity and her mother had never been particularly close. Michiru hadn't thought too much of it at the time. Considering her own strained relationship with her family she knew just because you could wish for a better family didn't mean it always ended up being that way. "How did you seem to be around her in the past?" That would be a good indicator if there were any truth to Serenity's hair color being a result of something involving her mother. There would be a natural weariness after an incident like that.

"Weary." Usagi admitted after a moment of thought. "Serenity always seems weary about things concerning her mother every time she starts to think about her. I don't think the Queen was as perfect as she tried to make herself out to be. Especially around her own daughter." Not for the first time glad her parents were so accepting of who she was. Serenity may have lacked a good relationship with her own parents but she herself didn't. Usagi had never shared such persistence weariness, had never truly feared her parents the way Serenity's life had been constantly haunted by it, her every step steeped in fear her mother might take notice of her and disapprove of something. The idea of defying her mother did not even cross her mind. After all, there was no one powerful enough to challenge her, least of all Serenity. Usagi, however, wondered about that. Was she truly that unbeatable?

"It's interesting how different the relationships are today from what they were back then." Michiru noted. It was interesting how their relationship with their families had flipped between their lives. She and Haruka had had good relationships with their own families in their past lives while Serenity's had been nonexistent at the best of times. In their current lives, Usagi's relationship with her own family was the best while they were now the ones whose relationship with their parents was nonexistent at the best of times.

A thought suddenly occurred to Usagi. "Wait. Luna, if using the Ginzishou caused the previous holder's hair color to change does that mean mine might change soon?" This was a bit surprising. Luna had mentioned the possibility before but not in relation to the crystal. At the time she had wanted to keep her hair color not wanting to attract more attention than necessary. And since it seemed more attached to her being Serenity then some side effect of the crystal. Not that she would stop using it for such a trivial thing.

"Yes. I'm not sure how long it took your mother or grandmother and so on hairs to change color since I only served your mother and I came to the Moon after it had already changed. I suspect it takes time." Luna said after a moment of thought. Asking the Queen how long did it take her hair color to change had never occurred to her. Mainly since back then, it had just seemed like the natural progression in how things in the royal family went. "It was completely natural back then."

"That was then." Usagi reminded her. Ultimately, she guessed her hair changing didn't bother her too much, but she didn't need anyone asking questions or anyone at school giving her grief for it. Guess she might need to start going to the hair salon sometime soon depending on how much she would be using the crystal.

Michiru hummed for a moment in thought. "The color would look really good on you." She had only small glimpses to go off on what Usagi with silvery white hair would look like. Even then, Serenity's hair hadn't been completely white, still having more blond then anything. Yet something about the idea seemed almost majestic to Michiru. Pure.

Usagi flushed slightly at that. "Thanks." She hadn't even really stopped to think about how the color might look to someone who might not use it as fuel for the bullies until Michiru had made that comment. When Usagi stopped to think about it, she wasn't entirely sure what she thought about the idea of being a teenager with silver-white hair. She had said to Naru before that she wasn't sure how she would handle that kind of change. In the end, there was always hair salons if she really didn't want silver hair yet.

* * *

Before Usagi even realized it, the time had come to practice for ballroom dancing for the graduation ball. They would be practicing with the boy's equivalent to the program, the Prince Seminar. That would have been fine normally. Until she spotted a familiar short dark-haired boy mingling in the crowd, Hisato, one of the three boys who had been involved in her rape when she was still back at Juuban. Suddenly she wasn't so sure if she could finish this out.

Michiru picked up on the way Usagi seemed to tense up when she saw the boys. "Usagi? Everything okay?" What was going on?

"It's nothing." Usagi said giving an unconvincing nervous laugh. Fully knowing she wasn't really convincing anyone that there wasn't a problem.

"Usagi- "Michiru began concern in her voice.

"I'll be okay." Usagi said shaking her head trying to shake off the concern from Michiru. This was different then Juuban, as long as Hisato didn't get anywhere near her she would be okay. It's not like he should be able to pull a stunt like that, again right?

Of course, things never did seem to work the way Usagi wanted. She froze as it was announced that her practice partner was going to be Hisato. She couldn't do this. Even if he hadn't been one of the two that had raped her...he still was attached to that moment. Plus, it was clear what his intentions had been if he had gotten the chance. Being that close to one of them made her fear that if no one were paying close enough attention, he would take advantage of it.

At a loss at what to do now. Usagi couldn't dance with Hisato, she wouldn't dance with him. She also needed to do this to graduate from the program. So Usagi did the first thing that popped into her mind. She bolted out of the ballroom in an attempt to get fresh air. And try to figure out what to do for the next step.

Michiru frowned at the boy that had produced the reaction from Usagi for a moment trying to figure out who he might be exactly. He wasn't one of the boys she had seen in the video itself, but that didn't mean he hadn't been somehow involved. There had been a third boy they all knew that. They just didn't know who he was. Usagi had never identified the remaining member of the trio, and he had never been seen on camera. Just heard. Michiru had a feeling, a sinking gut-wrenching feeling, that if this boy opened his mouth to speak his voice would match that of the final boy.

All Michiru had was suspicions. Suspicions that only Usagi herself would be able to confirm. Glancing back at the boy one last time she went after Usagi. She had plenty of dance practice herself Countess Rose could figure out what to do with the sudden missing dance partners on her own.

* * *

Michiru eventually found Usagi on a balcony a fair distance away from the ballroom sitting on the ground. Michiru sat down next to her on the ground. "Are you all right?" When she got close enough, she could see the younger girl was noticeably shaking again. Whoever that boy was, this had upset Usagi and could only mean bad news. The dread taking root in Michiru's chest only intensified.

Usagi shrugged slightly at first before after a moment starting to shake her head. She wasn't in the mood to try and deny that seeing Hisato had shaken her, that dancing with him terrified her. She wasn't sure if she would ever be alright when dealing with anything that came with those three boys.

"He was the one that recorded-" Usagi broke off not entirely wanting to finish vocalizing that thought and its implications. Michiru understood immediately.

"It's alright." Michiru said drawing the girl into a side hug. It was a very real concern considering the behavior they had seen of that one boy towards Usagi what would happen if the two got anywhere close to each other. Remembering the threat that had been passed towards Usagi the last time she had encountered Aito. Combine that with the near-kidnapping of just a couple of weeks ago having the two anywhere near each other was a horrible idea. Time hadn't abated their disgusting interest in Usagi.

Michiru was glad, for the moment, Haruka hadn't enrolled along with the two of them. There would have been no stopping Haruka if she knew who that boy was. Not that he wouldn't deserve whatever it was Haruka would do to him, but this wasn't the place for such tactics. There were more effective ways to destroy someone than broken bones or temporary bruising. This entire situation was its own set of issues. Poor Usagi just couldn't catch a break. Fates be damned, they seemed to love toying with the girl. Both Michiru and Usagi had to do this practice for her and Usagi to graduate and be able to check and find Misako. She somehow doubted Countess Rose would let Usagi skip dance practice regardless of the reason behind it. To be quite honest she didn't want Usagi anywhere near the boy as much as Usagi wanted nothing to do with him. There had to be a solution to the problem that didn't have Usagi dancing with that boy.

"Usagi? Michiru?" Zoisite called in surprise as he stepped out onto the balcony Usagi and Michiru had taken refuge on. Choosing not to comment on the position of the two for the moment as they quickly pulled back. When Countess Rose had called him out to retrieve a troublesome pair of students for dance practice the last thing, he had been expecting was for Usagi and Michiru to be causing the trouble.

Usagi looked at the blond haired general in surprise. "Zoisite? What are you doing here?" She had expected someone to come for the two of them eventually. Perhaps he could help? Even if she wasn't sure she wanted to tell the general the reason she could not dance with that boy... there was the possibility he might be able to talk to the countess or something. Even an attempt would be appreciated.

"Countess Rose asked me to deal with you refusing to practice because I'm closer to your age then she is." Zoisite noted in amusement. "Her words not mine." He added at the look Usagi gave him.

"You're still a lot older than us." Michiru pointed out in some amusement. If Countess Rose was a human turned youma, which Zoisite's presence was now leading her to suspect, that might alter what actual age she was instead of what she was perceived as. Guess she would know soon enough. Countess Rose was involved with the Dark Kingdom, they now knew that for sure thanks to Zoisite's presence. The question was, was she like Jade?

"I know that, but when compared to her in a physical sense I am younger." Zoisite said with a shrug. "She said you ran like the floor would fall out from under you Usagi. What happened?"

"The boy I was assigned. I have a history with him. Forget having to work with him, I can barely breathe with him in there. I don't want to quit with it being so close to the end of the program but if he's the only option I cannot go on either. I know we need to check and make sure she isn't like Jade but being near him scares me." Usagi admitted after a moment of hesitation. Despite her earlier commitment to stick it through this was the one thing she couldn't budge on it. "Actually, I'm not sure if I can continue if our graduation balls are at the same time." Usagi admitted being honest for a moment. Feeling torn between the need to save Misako and the sheer terror that being near Hisato produced.

Usagi was completely lost on what to do now. She believed in the others ability to protect her, but as seen with the D Ball it could be easy enough to get separated from them and have something happen. Fear blossoming at the idea forming that if given the opportunity he would do what he had been blocked from doing at Juuban.

"The boys have a separate graduation ball, so that isn't a problem at least. What kind of history are we talking here? Silver Alliance or something else entirely?" Zoisite asked raising an eyebrow looking between the two of them for an explanation. Though he would think if it was the former, he would know already.

Michiru took over seeing Usagi's clear reluctance to continue. Keeping it brief. "Something else entirely. They used to go to school together." Usagi reluctantly admitted a moment later. Hand-wringing for a bit in nervousness. "I…I don't want to talk about it. He was part of a group of boys that hurt me badly about a year ago. They've shown interest in hurting me in the same way again. Haruka already stopped one of them at the mall when I ran into him." That was as close as she could come to telling him. She needed Zoisite to understand without having to tell him.

Zoisite kept quiet for a moment not asking for further details. Though judging by the look on his face, Michiru suspected that he had figured out what Usagi was saying had happened without her saying it. "I don't know what to do." Usagi said finally breaking the silence again. "I need to do the dance practice. I know that I need it to graduate, I can't leave this hanging. There is no way I can dance with him." At least no way she could think of.

"She shouldn't have to dance with him. This isn't right." Michiru added. Her own feelings being mixed now. They needed to find Misako but putting Usagi with one of her worst fears…she honestly wasn't sure if she could handle that either after everything else that had happened recently. She didn't want to force Usagi into the situation, but their options were so limited.

Zoisite thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. "I might have a solution that doesn't involve you dropping out of the program. I'll have to pass it by Countess Rose first. Give me a few minutes."

* * *

As it turned out Zoisite's solution to the problem had been to do the dance practice back at Masato's mansion. Meaning Usagi got the two things she wanted, got away from Hisato and got to finish out the program. Not sure how he had convinced Countess Rose to get on board with the idea. Michiru suspected it might have something to do with the fact that he was a higher rank than the youma.

Of course, none of them had really expected to run into Naru at the mansion. "What are you doing here?" Usagi said pulling back from the hug with a frown. She knew Naru was spending more time at Masato's place, but it was still a surprise.

"We're trying to bring back Naru's memories as Ruby again. By sharing stories of what Elysian was like." Masato answered. So far, they hadn't had much luck. They were hoping the more they were together that might change.

"What happened? You two usually don't come out here without warning." Naru asked changing topics for the moment and choosing to address the more pertinent of the two topics floating around, why Usagi and Michiru were there. Most of the senshi avoided Masato's mansion unless a trip out here was needed. Meetings tended to happen elsewhere.

"I brought her here because she needs training in ballroom dancing for the program but couldn't participate due to the boy members of the other class. I managed to convince Countess Rose that I could do the training, so she could still take part in the ball." Zoisite explained.

"What happened?" Naru tried to ask again this time her tone a bit more demanding directing the question at Usagi. A dozen different scenarios running through her head. None of them good since it probably involved Yuki.

"Hisato is in the boy's program." Usagi said shifting uncomfortably. Causing Naru to hiss in recognition of the name.

"Hisato?" Masato questioned quietly shooting a questioning look at Zoisite. It obviously meant something to Naru. Judging by Zoisite's less than pleased look and Michiru's stormy eyes they knew whoever this was.

"I'll explain later." Naru said waving off the question. All the while trying to think how it was best to explain what had happened without revealing everything about a subject Usagi was still very much jumpy about. Especially since she doubted Usagi wanted to have to go through any sort of conversation involving that again after having so much talk about it. "Are you going to be all right finishing out the program?"

"Boys have a different ball then we do. I just needed to go somewhere else for dance practice." Usagi said giving a tight smile. "At least I do get to finish the program." Besides with Zoisite now being involved, it did confirm the fact that this was a Dark Kingdom plot. She had to stick this out. She couldn't walk away knowing others were in danger. Usagi just hoped that he didn't try to show up at her ball.

* * *

"Jadeite as her practice partner? Really?" Michiru asked raising an eyebrow after they had gone to the ballroom in the back of the ballroom. She had figured that one of the generals would be practicing with Usagi. She hadn't expected Jadeite to be the one. Probably should have checked that beforehand, in hindsight. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about this. Jadeite was the most recently turned of all the generals and the one she had dealt with the most in her solo days. Naturally, he was the one she felt the least comfortable around.

"We haven't had time to practice the art. Jadeite had hands in the most variant amount of schemes, so he's the one with the most recent practice." Masato explained. He may have a ballroom, but it had come with the house. He hadn't really put it to any actual use. His work had no reason to involve having extravagant balls. He hadn't done any real ballroom dancing since before the Dark Kingdom. Jadeite with his huge amount of schemes back when he was Beryl's lead general had real and recent experience.

"If you want to get really technical  _all of us_  him included are out of practice. He's the most up to date with it." Zoisite pointed out with a shrug. It wasn't like you needed to know how to waltz when you were working for the Dark Kingdom. That wasn't even starting on the fact that the one whose memories were the most intact at the moment was Jadeite.

"It will be fine Michiru." Usagi said trying to wave off the concern. Jadeite hadn't really tried to pull anything since she had initially healed him. She had fewer qualms with the blond-haired general just because she had the least amount of direct encounters with him.

"I still wish there was someone better for you to practice with." Michiru commented frowning slightly. For this, to work, Usagi's dance partner had to be a guy or else she might have just taken up the position herself. But as it was as part of the program, Usagi needed to be able to waltz with a male partner and while she might be a more than enough good substitute. It was better for Usagi to get actual practice.

Usagi chewed her lip. Michiru had to deal with him or his minions for four months longer then she had. Jadeite had been an enemy for so long. She had been fighting against him longer than any of the other generals. Relaxing around him was going to be a much longer task if it ever came.

"It will be fine. You'll be there watching the two of us the entire time. If he was still a threat, which he isn't, then you'll be able to stop him." Usagi said trying to reassure her. Knowing full well there was no way to get Michiru to really relax with her around Jadeite. At least not for a good long while. It had taken a while for any of them to trust Masato. And she wasn't sure how much trust was involved with their relationship with Zoisite. Probably more than what existed towards Jadeite at the moment.

"I don't like this." Michiru said slowing giving into it. She doubted Jadeite could do anything here with four people keeping a close eye on him. Usagi did need the practice. And if they showed up tomorrow without her having practiced, then they were going to run into problems at the Graduation Ball.

"It will be alright Michiru." Usagi said softly shaking her head at one of her most protective senshi alongside Haruka.

* * *

"Thanks for not following through with your attack that day back at the airport." Jadeite said after a moment when they had drifted slightly away from the others during practice. He was well aware that if she had followed her fellow senshi's lead, they wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Despite how long it had taken to get here he was glad that he was getting a second chance. He wouldn't have even gotten this if she hadn't hesitated. "I must apologize for my actions under the Dark Kingdom's control."

"Accepted though Michiru and Haruka might take a little while to come around." Usagi said with a small smile thinking of the two most overprotective senshi, not that they didn't have a reason to be. Jadeite had an impact on her life that for sure, but he had a far bigger impact on the others when compared to her. Haruka and Michiru had to deal with him for a few months before she had entered the picture.

Jadeite hadn't been in the same situation as the other generals when he had left Elysian. He had no bond mate now or back then, which seemed to be a driving force in the others leaving. With that in mind, he wasn't sure what had driven him to follow the others in joining the Dark Kingdom. It could have been just a sense of camaraderie, but more than likely there was something more than that. He remembered leaving Elysian and joining the Dark Kingdom, but never could he seem to grasp why, no matter how much he tried.

"You know just being curious but how were you able to control the planes that night?" Usagi asked breaking into his thoughts. The topic had come up before between her and the others. They hadn't known how he had really been able to do it beyond speculation based on what the others had seen. Now she had a chance to ask Jadeite about it.

She was genuinely curious about this. How did the generals get their powers? It wasn't like they all appeared to have a common theme. With the senshi, their powers were based around their planet's specialization. Neptune being water and oceans, Uranus being the sky, Mars had been fire, etc. Though you did get the anomalies every once and a while pretty much constants remained throughout the generations. The generals she wasn't sure where they came from. And it wasn't exactly like Jadeite was alone in having some sort of ability.

"I've always had a way with forms of technology for as long as I can remember. We've always had abilities even back during the time of Elysian though what they were then compared to what they are now is less clear. That was something that wasn't clear to us even back during the time of Elysian if I recall correctly. The common theory was that somewhere along the line someone from our family immigrated from another planet and the gene that contained our abilities only activated with us for some reason. It's hard to say why us, going by that theory Nephrite probably had family from Mars and Zoisite from Mercury. I'm not sure where mine or Kunzite's came from though." Jadeite admitted after some thought. There had been a lot of speculation about where they got their powers from back in the days of Elysian. There had been some hope before the fall they might be able to get some long-lost answers to their lineage with the upcoming marriages and Earth set to join the Silver Alliance. That had never happened sadly. All they could do now was speculate. "You look surprised."

"I just hadn't really thought about people immigrating to Earth from other planets, as strange as that sounds." Usagi admitted. That must have been quite the transition, and she wondered just how common that was back in the day of the Silver Alliance. It was hard to judge in this day and age. Cats like Hercules and Megara and their brood who had all had ancestors who immigrated from Luna, and Artemis' homeworld of Mau showed just how much anything that could have immigrated from another system might no longer be as obvious as they once were.

* * *

Setsuna had talked to Luna about Naoko's intelligence after they had gotten back from a trip asking her to check and see if Naoko was a Teuan. The idea that she might be Mauan pretty much tossed out immediately. As far as Luna and Artemis knew there hadn't been any Mauan arrivals since before the fall of the Silver Alliance. Anything that wasn't an average house cat would be most likely descended somewhere between a Mauan and a Terran house cat mating somewhere far back in the line the question being though just how far back.

"Easy. I mean no harm. Setsuna was just curious about you." Luna said trying to appease the other cat noticing how tense her posture was right off the bat. "She noticed that you were really protective of Ryo and seemed to understand at least what his mother was saying."

Naoko tilted her head for a moment confusion evident. " _You speak the human's language?"_

"I am not your typical house cat. I am Mauan, a former resident of the planet Mau many lightyears away from Earth. While we can look like most animals, we aren't actually Terran animals." Luna explained frowning slightly. Apparently, if she was Teuan like her and Setsuna suspected she had never been told what exactly she was. "I think you may be similar to a cross that lives around here. Something I'm technically related to but only distantly. It would explain your ability to understand the humans as well as you do at the least."

" _I don't know what you think I might be. Ryo_ _and I,_ _we_ _are_ _both considered freaks by our family. Him for being able to see the future. Me because I have the ability to see a person's true nature."_ Naoko finally admitted with some clear reluctance. She had been raised to never talk about it by her family. Once she had been old enough not to rely on her family and siblings, she had been pretty much ostracized by them for her freakish ability. Told repeatedly that it was an abnormal ability that nothing good comes of it. When she had found Ryo with his own ability, it had been finding a kindred soul.

"You were born with the sight. The ability to see light and dark energy." Luna muttered realizing what Naoko was saying. Shocked that she had been able to find someone like this. Hercules had told her that a Teuan being born with it was very rare, and it hurt to realize that Naoko had been trodden down about an ability that was normally well sought after. Luna herself had bemoaned how rare it was. Wishing she had another hand in trying to find the enemy. It at least explained why Naoko had probably gotten attached to her owner. Ryo had never fit in his family and Naoko had probably had her own difficulties with her own litter. She didn't even seem to know what she was. Luna had suspicions the knowledge that her own family wasn't just domestic cats had been long lost.

" _Never had it described like that, but I guess that's_ _one way to describe it_ _."_  Naoko admitted after a moment of thought. The best way she could think of was like almost being able to see a human's aura. Most were a neutral gray and stayed that way the entire time she had known them. The spectrum varied going to a darker grey, to almost white and sometimes rare variations otherwise but all of it was simply shades that she had learned reflected a person's true nature. She suspected it could go all the way to black, but fortunately, she had never encountered someone exuding that kind of energy. On occasion, it could change. Ryo's aura had gotten lighter after returning from Tokyo for some reason she didn't know about yet. " _No one around where I grew up had even heard of it before I was born."_

"It sounds like your family forgot what they were and that the ability can present itself. From what I understand its normally something to be celebrated." Luna said frowning slightly. As far as she knew normal Terran house cats couldn't get this kind of ability. She must have some sort of Mauan in her background. Though who knew when. "I could introduce you to others like yourself. Well sort of. As far as I know, their colony doesn't have anyone else with that ability. But they are descended from the same line as you are. You would be welcomed there."

Naoko hesitated at that. " _I've never really gotten along with other cats before."_ Then again, she had been primarily an indoor cat once Ryo had adopted her. Most of her experience with other cats dealt with the shunning she had received growing up thanks to her strange ability.

"If I'm right then you've never been around others that have heard of your ability before. This could be good for you." Luna guessed taking Naoko's silence as a yes. "I can't force you, but you might find yourself more comfortable around others like yourself. I could even arrange a small meeting with just a couple of them if that would make you feel better. At the very least they can help explain your history and ability better than I can. I only know a small fraction of that."

Naoko thought it over. " _I think I would like that._ _Maybe one or two of them might be alright?_ _"_

"I don't think they will have a problem with that." Luna agreed. She would start with reaching out to Hercules and Megara. They would probably be the best at helping Naoko and introducing to others. At the moment they were the ones she trusted the most out of all the Teuans.

* * *

Sunday afternoon saw Usagi, along with Haruka and Michiru, getting ready for the graduation ball. They were going to meet up with everyone else later at the ball. So, for now, it was just a matter of getting prepared and get there on time. Michiru had pulled out another blue dress for her to wear after Usagi had realized that somehow having a dress had escaped her mind. Guess too many things had been happening recently to remember it.

"It kind of reminds me of the dress from the D Ball." Usagi admitted tilting her head slightly. It wasn't identical by any means, and there was more flare to it in places, and that dress had been a solid blue whereas this one had some gold in it. Something about it did remind her of it.

Haruka chuckled slightly at that. "It's actually the same one." Usagi blinked once then twice in surprise turning back to the dress. That was not something she had expected. It looked so different to her from the dress she had worn back in March. But she guessed to fix it a lot had to be changed.

"It's really the same one?" Usagi asked, Michiru nodding her head in confirmation. The last time she had seen this dress or rather part of it. Had been when her Mom had been tucking the top half of it away in one of the closets after the ball. Michiru must have retrieved it at some point, and she just hadn't been aware. Maybe on her last night in her parents' apartment?

"I retrieved the other half when I was over at your parents' place at one point and took it to a seamstress to see if she could repair and improve on the original design. It was originally done right before the first Princess Seminar, but after everything that happened it ended up stored in the back of the closet. The seamstress outdid herself and made a new dress out of the old one." Michiru admitted. She had originally been planning to give it to Usagi back then, but after everything else that had happened, it had been quietly tucked away until there was a better time for it. Though she hadn't expected it to be when Usagi returned to finish out the program a month later.

Usagi still found herself hesitating for a moment at the thought of wearing the dress. It was beautiful, too beautiful. "What if Yuki or someone else tries to pull a similar stunt?" The graduation ball was an open event. Hisato had been assigned to her from the boy's program. Something in her gut told her that more than likely Yuki would be in attendance no matter how much Usagi desperately hoped otherwise.

"They'll find it a lot more difficult to pull off." Michiru said crossing her arms. She had the seamstress reinforce any weak points just in case. Though if any of them had any say in it, if Yuki were there tonight, she wouldn't get anywhere near Usagi. "It's up to you Usagi if you want to wear it. It's your dress."

Usagi flushed slightly at that. "I can't take it." She could think of so many reasons to not take it. The dress was so expensive, to begin with. She couldn't imagine what it would have cost to repair it and redesign it out of the same torn up dress she had worn before. It was so fancy and suited for someone that was of high class. In other words, to her, it was better suited for someone else. But even then…It was a beautiful dress, and she had loved wearing it up until the moment Yuki had torn into it.

"It looks better on you than it ever did on me." Michiru argued shaking her head slightly in exasperation. She knew this for a fact. Before she had gotten together with Haruka, she had worn it once to a formal event with her family. "It's yours." Nothing about the way Michiru said this, despite the calming warmth of her voice, left any room to argue.

* * *

Usagi and Michiru split off from the others shortly after arrival, mingling within the crowd of other students as they waited to be introduced and relieved that she couldn't see Hisato anywhere. Even with the others here, Usagi didn't want to deal with him again tonight of all nights. She had bigger problems to worry about.

It was done alphabetically, so she had to wait before she was introduced and started going down the ballrooms staircase. Frowning for a moment, she thought she saw a flash of red that she usually associated with Yuki. Usagi made her way to her place before joining the others in waiting for the final introductions to be done so the dancing itself would then commence.

Once the introductions were completed, Haruka had pulled Usagi for the first dance, much to the jealous fluttering of the other girls of the program. They were probably all wondering why she had been picked out of all them to be 'his' first dance partner. Not that either of them would have it any other way.

For the moment she tried not to think about her other classmates and concentrate on the moment. There was something strangely familiar and comfortable about dancing with Haruka. Maybe it had something to deal with that dream she had had a couple of nights ago. Serenity, Theia, and Rhode had all danced with each other on multiple occasions it seemed like. So, there was a history there where she probably drew the familiarity from. Who knew how many times they had danced together in their past lives. Enough she could almost forget the ballroom they were currently in and eclipse it with another, so she suspected they had danced very much.

It made her almost able to forget everyone else in the ballroom. Countess Rose, her fellow students, even the families. For a moment, and it was just that, it felt like it was just the two of them.

Reality beckoned like a gong as it always seemed to do, and the song ended.

* * *

"Any idea when they will make their move?" Setsuna asked addressing the question to both Usagi and Michiru. Hoping one of them might have an idea when trouble might start to arise.

"No. I mean, I know there are supposed to be at least a few dances, but I'm not really sure what happens after that." Usagi confessed. With her taking lessons back at Masato's place any ending had been missed, unfortunately. She'd missed any announcements that might have been had. It was for the best. She couldn't have handled being that close to the boys for an extended period of times like it would have been required for practice. That didn't mean it did add a wrinkle to the situation.

"Probably the graduation ceremony itself." Setsuna theorized. Nothing else had given an indicator that there was a youma plot. At this point, they only even knew for certain that it was one thanks to Zoisite's involvement. There was a limited window to work within which a youma could show up.

"That is the most obvious place." Michiru agreed after a moment of thought. It seemed to also be the one that made the most sense. "Obviously whatever they are doing isn't in plain view of the rest of the attendees, or we would have even larger groups of people going missing." Haruka added to the conversation. It had taken some digging, but they had been able to confirm that Misako hadn't been the only person reported missing after enrolling in the program.

"Are they even going to let you walk considering the fact you only took a couple of days of the class?" Setsuna questioned voicing a growing concern she had. They had let Michiru in basically on her credentials. Participating in the graduation ceremony was entirely different from allowing Michiru to attend a few days alongside Usagi. She had a feeling it didn't matter in the end, but it was still a question worth asking.

"Doesn't matter what they want. They'll have a hard time getting me not to walk with her. She's not going back there alone." Michiru said with a shrug. She wasn't going to take no for an answer here. They needed to take care of the youma problem, yes. But letting Usagi anywhere near a youma without one of them watching her wasn't going to happen.

"What about using the disguise pen?" Hotaru suggested. She hadn't ever seen the actual disguise pen in use, but she had heard of it. It almost seemed like a perfect solution to the problem of putting Usagi in danger by walking up to a youma. Who they didn't know exactly what the reaction would be if they figured out for sure that Usagi was the Moon Princess.

"Why is it we never remember that?" Haruka questioned under her breath. Admittedly there hadn't been much need for its use recently. They had been going the more direct route recently. No need for subterfuge or hiding behind smoke and mirrors.

Usagi frowned at that. "Would that actually work?" Sure, the pen could make her look like someone else. Or possibly someone else like her. Not that she liked the idea of the later. Would it be enough to trick whatever they were using to try and find her?

Setsuna shook her head. "No. It's not a bad idea, but the pen is supposed to be keyed to your magic. And will only really work for you it might respond to Michiru slightly, but it won't have nearly the same effect as it would if you used it. Even if we could get it to work properly, it might not be enough to fool whatever they are using."

* * *

Usagi froze when they entered another room off to the side full of people frozen in wax. As she got the first real look of what was going on behind the scenes of the Princess Seminar. Usagi couldn't spot Michiru's younger sister in what looked like at least a hundred different people frozen in wax, but she had little doubt that Misako was somewhere in the room. Judging by Michiru's own tense stance, she realized the same.

Hand going to her locket for a moment worrying about someone else seeing. This was one of the most public places where they had to face transforming to fight the enemy. Not the most public of them. That still was arguably both Dreamland incidents, but they didn't know who controlled the cameras here or who could see them and how it could be used against them. "We need to try and fall back, it's too risky transforming here." Usagi muttered under her breath to Michiru hoping the now youma Countess Rose wouldn't overhear them. She had hit the emergency button as soon as the situation had become apparent. If they could just get one of the others to distract the youma long enough to allow them to henshin away from prying eyes, then the problem would be solved. If they went, by the way, things had gone with Jade most likely Countess Rose wouldn't remember who they were regardless if she saw them henshin. "Do you see her?" The obvious her being Misako.

"No." Michiru said shaking her head, trying to keep her own thoughts focused and away from the increasing worry about Misako. If they took care of the youma problem, Misako would be okay. She had to be. "This reminds me a bit of that glass that youma tried to encase you in the way back when." That brought up its own concerns.

Usagi winced remembering that fight. She was hoping that it wasn't identical to whatever that youma had used. She could barely breathe when encased in that glass. If that was the same thing here, then there was going to be a lot more problems. "That feels like a lifetime ago." Usagi said to herself. The Cinderella Cavern had happened all the way back in January. Which while only seven months ago might as well have been an eon ago with all that had happened in the meantime. So much had changed and since then both in their fight in the Dark Kingdom and herself arguably.

"After everything that's happened in the meanwhile, it might as well have been ages." Michiru said voicing her own agreement. So much had changed since Usagi had started working with them. They had all come a long way since those early days.

"Probably should go ahead and transform even if the others aren't here yet she seems distracted enough that I don't think she has even realized we weren't turned into wax figurines." Usagi pointed out. Countess Rose the youma seemed more intent on finding her, or rather her princess self then she seemed in her surroundings. Something they could use to their advantage thankfully Usagi realized with her hand going to the locket again and transforming. Now the encased attendees were going to provide a new problem. Getting a direct line of sight for Countess Rose in order to be able to revert her back from being a youma. Though that was bound to get easier as the rest of the group arrived.

"I can heal her if I can get a line of sight." Moon admitted taking a clear look at the youma now that they were both transformed. The others arriving a few moments after. There were enough people that had been waxed that finding an opening and not losing it rather quickly was going to be difficult.

"I've been experimenting with Silence Wall." Saturn offered after a moment of thought. Normally it was used for protection against the enemy. But if they got a bit creative, they could also technically prevent it from trying to run and dodge the healing spell. It would be a bit more complicated than just throwing up a barrier like they normally did. But in concept, it should work and keep it in place long enough for the healing spell to take effect. "I might be able to trap her long enough to have the healing spell take effect. I'm not sure, but I could try."

"Don't think we have another choice." Moon said after a moment of thought. Anything else would involve attacking and someone getting hurt in the crossfire. Attacking like they normally would was out of the question in a situation like this. "When you get the opening take it."

It took a bit guesswork and quick actions but eventually they had the youma trapped. Giving Moon the opening she needed to cast the healing spell. It took a moment, but eventually, the youma transformed back into a human Moon sighing slightly in relief. Closing the compact a moment later. That could have gotten a lot worse if the healing hadn't kicked in when it had. As it was, considering the nature of this fight, she had a feeling Mamiko would be doing a lot of damage control over the next few days. So many people had been there when the youma had morphed. While a good portion of them had been, thankfully, gone by the time she had healed the person Sailor Moon could see this causing problems and fear about the enemy being among them in the general public. It was going to be a trying next few days.

Sailor Moon noticed Neptune scanning the room, obviously trying to find Misako again now that the danger was passed. "Go. Just remember to dehenshin first." Misako still didn't know who her older sister was so if she wanted to keep that from her Neptune would have to drop the henshin. As it was, she wasn't going to stop Neptune from going to find her sister now that the danger was over. Neptune gave a subtle nod before disappearing into the crowd dehenshining as she went.

"Another one." Uranus noted frowning slightly drawing Moon's attention back to the now once again human Countess Rose. Realizing quickly Uranus was right. There was no denying that this wasn't the same woman that had transformed into the youma they had just fought. She looked more like her pre-transformation self then Jade had, they were about the same age if appearances were to go by. Other than that, and her frame being similar the similarities ended there. Countess Rose had been a light brunette with some gray streaks running through her hair. This woman's hair was a fiery red with grey streaks in contrast.

On the one hand, it was a good thing, being able to find and rescue someone else from the Dark Kingdom. On the other, this certainly complicated things further in their fight against the Dark Kingdom. Knowing for certain that Jade wasn't alone in the group of humans that turned into youma. This raised the question now of just how many of them were out there. This edged into Sailor Moon's personal fears about the youma as a whole.

"Are you alright Sailor Moon?" Pluto asked giving Moon the once over with her eyes. Moon was a bit pale again and the shoulders slouching suggested she was tired. Not quite as bad as during the worst of them dealing with the rainbow crystal carriers. Things were starting to improve by the looks of it. Whatever Uranus and Neptune were doing to help exactly must be working. It was still apparent however that healing had taken a lot out of the Senshi of the Moon.

"Just tired." Moon said shaking her head slightly a slightly strained smile betraying her own tiredness. That had been a bit more difficult when compared to healing Jade the first time. Odd since she had found that one of the easiest. Maybe it had something to do with however long this person had been a youma? Or their actual age? It wasn't like they knew much about how they came to be in that state in the first place. "Nothing, a good night's sleep, shouldn't fix." Which should come as long as the nightmares stayed away. Turning her attention back to the woman they had apparently saved Moon chewed her lip unsure what to do. It wasn't as much of a shock to be presented with this situation as it had been the first time. Though this brought all the concerns about them having accidentally killed another human back to the surface with a new fervor. Just how many of these humans turned youma were out there?

"Appropriately enough she was a tutor for some of the younger member of the courts. Hired by Ruby's parents before they passed away. She stayed on because she felt she still had use even if the king and queen she had signed on to serve for were now gone. I'm not entirely sure whose court she technically belonged to though." Masato admitted with a thoughtful frown. She had interacted with Ruby's court more due to being a tutor. Her age put her more in line with members of Beryl's court from what he remembered. Something to figure out on another day. "Ironically she went by the title Countess Rose back then too. Guess there are some things that one refuses to give up even after being turned into another life-form." Masato noted shaking his head slightly. He wasn't entirely surprised. The woman had had a strong personality back during the Elysian days. If someone were going to insist on retaining their former title, she would be the type to do so.

"I better go talk to her. I'll reach out to you after I've had time to fill her in on what's going on and see if there are any more details, we can get from the situation from talking to her. In the meantime, you might want to dehenshin before you start drawing unwanted attention." Masato said moving to go talk to the newly healed human. This was going to another long night. He needed to get the newest revived member of the court back to the mansion and see what they could sort out from there.

Michiru searched among the victims of the Youma attack and in the end, she could not find her. Her chest panged, and her heart sped up with every face that wasn't Misako. In hopes Mamiko had found Misako, she pushed down her growing panic and searched for her. Dread dropped in her stomach as well as her chest as she searched for her sister in every face, becoming heavier with each face that wasn't sweet Misako.

* * *

Michiru, after coming to where she'd been pointed to Mamiko, should have thought something was up when she was waved through the door to her sister with solemn faces that, no doubt, worked with her sister. She should have greeted the others, but she only had eyes for her sister at that moment. "Mamiko-" She was interrupted by her sister's sob and seeing her collapse, a screen in front of her. The tapes. Surveillance tapes. The image Michiru glimpsed would haunt her for the rest of her life. Her baby sister running for dear life. This was the last image seen of her. "She got away." Mamiko's voice, broken as could be, answered the question in the air. "She's not here." Michiru's world shattered and her heart disappeared into an endless vortex, ripped out with that statement. Their baby sister wasn't here. Where was she?  _Misako!_

* * *

Usagi sat with her senshi and her parents. Everyone was dehenshined and hoping for Misako to be found, waiting for the moment the girl would come around the corner with Michiru or for Michiru to come and tell them how she was doing. So many others had already left, and it was later than it should be for such a thing. Something inside told Usagi something was wrong. She had this nagging feeling, and Haruka had just walked off to look for Michiru when Usagi heard a sound she hoped she never would hear ever again. It doused her entire being in absolute cold and despair. It was a cry filled with absolute agony and terror beyond terror.

Michiru's heart gripping scream bounced around inside of her. She felt it within herself almost before she heard it and before she could even think she was on her feet. Running to where she'd heard, felt, not all that far away yet felt all around her. Usagi found both the Senshi's 'handler', Michiru's older sister Mamiko, and Michiru looking for all the world like it'd shattered.

Michiru was more livid than Usagi had ever seen her, and her sister, the equally calm Mamiko was screaming at two people who looked remarkably like all three of the sisters Usagi had met. "HOW COULD YOU?! YOU'VE HAD THIS ALL THIS TIME AND YOU-!" Anguish, betrayal and so many other emotions could be heard in Mamiko's voice. The couple looked affronted at best, insulted even, and apathetic at worst. Usagi could not imagine these people to be who she thought they were. Something about them just felt wrong.

Usagi's eyes landed and became glued to a paper in Mamiko's hand being waved at the older couple. It had what looked like a blood stain on the paper. She froze. Was it...? Her heart skipped a beat. Finally, she heard Haruka, who had just come up and was trying to comfort Michiru. " _Ransom_?!"

The older couple seemed to posture as if ready to say something when Michiru's face became cold like Ice starring them down. She pulled away from Haruka, tears still falling down her face leaving trails of wet before addressing the two older people before them. "You knew." A pang. Michiru's voice was hard as steel she continued. "You knew she was taken weeks ago and  _said nothing_." Each word condemned them, each word hung like an executioner's ax, malice dripping from every word Michiru had spoken and striking a cord within Usagi.  _How could they?!_ How could  _anyone?!_ **How could this be?!**

Usagi could do nothing but helplessly stand there trying to be of some comfort in the situation while also wondering if they could still find or rescue Misako. Would they rescue her or would Michiru feel the same thing Usagi did? She would blame herself, of this Usagi was sure. Misako was a sweet girl, and Usagi didn't wish anything bad to happen to her. While her arms gripped, Michiru Usagi felt as if Michiru was far from herself right now and wondered if she could offer any comfort in this situation, especially knowing than pangs of losing Shingo. She silently pleaded with whoever would listen not to do that to Michiru and Mamiko. Her vow of no more Shingo's suddenly took on new meaning, and she wondered if this would be a meaning she would fail in, helpless as she was against this. Her heart was drowning in emotions both her own and not her own, an empathy she could not explain but was lost in. Michiru's pain was as endless as her own, and she could not accept this.  _'Please let us find Misako!'_

* * *

_Later that night in England other things that weren't youma related were on Minako's mind. As she found herself in a slightly unusual dream. Most of Minako's dreams when it came to the Silver Millennium centered around the fall_ _of the Sol system and the moon in particular. Of_ _that long horrible night where death_ _and much worse_ _surrounded_ _and swallowed_ _all of them._

_H_ _aving a dream that wasn't centered around that point in time was a rarity, but a welcome on_ _e_ _. However, something about Serenity's behavior seemed off. From what she could glea_ _n_ _in the memories she did have Serenity had always seemed like a friendly, cheerful type. Always happy to see her guardians. This time though she barely responded to the hello Harmonia had given her._

" _Serenity?" Harmonia called again to the clearly dazed princess stepping in front of her before she could continue past. Minako was a bit lost on what had led to this, but she could sense her past self's alarm though. Whatever was causing this wasn't normal. Harmonia seemed to catch something that she missed as she let a Venetian curse slip through before asking. "What happened?"_

_That finally caught Serenity's attention stopping for the moment. Seeming to hesitate at first, Serenity shifted under the gaze of Harmonia obviously uncomfortable. "Mother and I had another argument."_

" _More than just an argument." Harmonia noted shaking her head grabbing one of the silver strands holding it out for it to be better be seen. "This wasn't here this morning, Reni. What got her angry enough to lash out at you again?" That nearly caused Minako to_ _feel sick_ _. Again?_ _AGAIN?!_ _This had happened before?_ _! What kind of life had their princess had on the moon?!_

_Serenity hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Mother wants to set me up with the Earth prince, Endymion. I may have voiced my concerns…"_

" _And her natural reaction was to lash out because of course, that's her first reaction…" Harmonia muttered to herself not sounding that all surprised by the situation. Like this had happened before somewhere along the road_ _, w_ _hich brought up the concerns for Minako, just how bad had the relationship between the Queen and Serenity. Most of her memories involving Serenity didn't have the Queen in them._

" _I should get going…mother ordered me to return to my room until further notice." Serenity said moving to continue down the hall they were in._

" _Screw that." Harmonia muttered, and Minako found herself agreeing with her past self. Reaching out to grab Serenity to keep her from continuing down the hallway. No way was Serenity going back to her room. She had a better idea. Reaching up and pressing the device that was against her ear. "Mercury meet me in the teleporter room."_

" _I don't want you to get in trouble." Serenity raised a seemingly meek protest._

_Harmonia shook her head. "Let me handle this." Honestly_ _,_ _if the Queen was in such a bad mood that she had lashed out at her daughter again sending her to Neptune was best for Serenity's safety. Serenity's safety was her first concern_ _._ _NOT_ _how pleased the Queen was or wasn't._ _She would protect her princess as much as possible, even from her own mother when the need arose, and the need was now. If she didn't move her, then the Queen might lash out once more if faced with Serenity too soon. On the bright side, if_ _she were that angry, then it would probably be a while before the Queen would start demanding to see her daughter_ _as well. And if she did? Be damned the consequences Venus was ready to take whatever the Queen would dish out to protect Serenity, even from the Moon Queen herself._

Minako woke up from the memory a moment later. Confusion now only increasing that the memory had ended. What had been that about? Why was she remembering this now? Just who had the Queen been if her past self seemed to be almost too used to her mother lashing out at Serenity when angered? That she had a way of handling it, so Serenity wouldn't become further harmed? If she was ready to take whatever was inflicted upon herself for doing her job even against her charges own mother? What would the queen have done that her past self was so ready to take on? "Minako?" Artemis' call drew her out of her thoughts. She had been so caught up in her troubling thoughts she hadn't even heard him.

"Hey Arty, find anything on patrol?" Minako said trying to deflect her mind off the new discoveries for the moment.

"Nothing new to report." Artemis said shaking his head. "Kunzite still hasn't made a new move from what I can tell. What about you? Dreaming of the fall again?"

"It was a different dream this time." Minako said making a face. Running a hand through her bangs taking Artemis' silence as encouragement to continue. "I would say this doesn't make much sense, but then again I don't really remember the High Queen that well."

Artemis perked up at that a little wondering what she meant exactly. He and Luna thought Luna was the only one alive that had seen Serenity supposedly get stabbed by her mother, except for maybe Usagi herself. But maybe there had been another witness after all. "What do you mean?"

"Harmonia ran into Serenity in the hallway. Princess Serenity and the Queen got into an argument that led to the queen... lashing out at Serenity. Not for the first time." Minako let out a sigh. "I'm not sure when it happened. I don't remember, but this was so normal Artemis. This was too normal for them." She noticed the look that crossed Artemis' face. "Why do you look disappointed at that?"

"…Luna remembered something that definitely fits with the idea that mother and daughter might not have gotten along as well as we thought. I was hoping to maybe have some proof that it wasn't an illusion." Artemis said shaking his head. He knew the chances that what Luna saw was an illusion were slim to none considering from what Luna had said there had been no youma present at that time. Regardless, he had been hoping for more substantial proof. Of course, life wasn't that simple. He sighed. It never was.

"If it had anything to do with the stab wound that Serenity was bearing, I can't help. We only found her again after the injury had been inflicted." Minako admitted shaking her head wondering for a brief moment why the idea was even occurring to her. Then again after all the conflicting info in her memories, it didn't feel like a stretch. Serenity had refused to name names when asked how she had come to acquire that injury. They hadn't had time to press the issue but her past self... would she have doubted the Queen of doing such a thing? Minako didn't think so. Wasn't that a disturbing thought.

"Guess life would have been too simple to have that handed to us." Artemis said with a deep sigh. It was looking more and more like the memories, as far as that went, were accurate. There were enough scattered signs in his and Luna's memories to point in that direction.

"Don't worry too much Arty. I'm sure it will all work out eventually." Minako said reaching over and trying to give him a reassuring scratch behind the ears. It might take a while to figure this all out, but somehow even with all that happened, she doubted it would all remained buried forever.

* * *

_Two continents away in a twist of fate Usagi was dreaming of that same day, but not of the same moment._ _R_ _ather after Harmonia had managed to whisk Serenity away from the Moon and her wrathful mother._

_Serenity was still a bit dazed when she came out of the teleporter. Whatever the Queen had done when she had lashed out with her magic still hadn't quite worn off_ _._ _The first person she saw upon exiting the teleporter was a woman with dark teal hair and eyes only a shade darker then Michiru's. It was the first time she had really seen Neptune's Queen in her memories._ _However, t_ _here was no denying who she was just based on the resemblance between her and Rhode or even Michiru. "Oh, Nixie."_

" _I'm fine really. She didn't do anything too bad this time." Serenity said trying to force a smile. Piquing Usagi's curiosity again. Just what did her past self consider 'bad'? She had a feeling it went back to the possible magical lash out, but her memories were so mixed and missing in places it was hard to say for certain what Serenity was referencing to._ _Usagi had a feeling she wouldn't like it. She had a feeling it would be unimaginably bad even if Serenity acted as if it was nothing. That wasn't comforting. Did she really sound like that? Usagi didn't have time to continue wondering._

" _Don't try putting on_ _that act here_ _Nixie. You_ _may be_ _able to do it well enough to fool those back on the Moon,_ _but_ _I and others here would see right through it." Queen Amphitrite said shaking her head. "Besides Princess Harmonia wouldn't have sent you_ _here like this_ _over a simple matter."_

_Serenity's shoulders seemed to drop for a moment, and the smile disappeared a moment later, and even Usagi could feel just how tired her past self was in the memory._ _Clearly, Princess Serenity was used to pretending like nothing was wrong although a lot clearly was. It_ _seemed like a lot of tension came out of Serenity after that comment. "We had another argument_ _. T_ _he Queen wants me to bond with the Earth Prince." Serenity finally admitted._ _Usagi noted she didn't refer to the queen as mother but rather 'the queen' and felt sad for her as she continued._ _"…I may have_ _protested against it_ _rather loudly_ _." Serenity admitted holding out one of her silver strands._

_The Queen let out a deep sigh. "We knew your mother would start looking for potential_ _suitors for you_ _Nixie." Amphitrite reminded her. "It was a danger all of you took on when you bonded."_

" _I know that. I don't regret it, I will never regret it." Serenity said shaking her head. "I had just been hoping for more time_ _. Perhaps_ _until I was closer to inheriting the throne and had more say in my own destiny._ _I_ _t's not like I'm the only one who bonded without her knowledge…" Serenity grumbled slightly. As far as she knew_ _,_ _she had been the last of the planetary princesses to bond outside of Persephone and Makaria._ _W_ _ho knew when either of them would be able to bond. As Serenity came more out of her dazed state, she became more articulate. "I'm not the only one she's trying to set up. She was talking about the Inner Court too."_

" _That is troubling." Amphitrite said seemingly more to herself than to Serenity. Seeming to realize what Usagi already knew from her time, this could and would affect the entire Alliance. "Go rest for now. I still want a healer to look you over in the evening to make sure nothing more was done, but that can wait a moment. Rhode should be on her way shortly." Amphitrite said after a moment giving Serenity a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I contacted Queen Phoebe about sending Princess Theia along, but I hadn't heard back from her before your arrival. Hopefully, she will be along shortly as well."_

" _Thank you." Serenity said finally managing a real smile. More than getting away from her actual mother she needed to see those two again. Especially after today's argument._

Usagi woke up a moment later in the present day. Light snores letting her know that at least Haruka was sleeping, Michiru she wasn't so sure about. Hopefully, she would have some time to process another memory before the inevitable questions.

For the moment Usagi lost herself in thought, letting herself go over what she had learned. The confirmation that the only reason Serenity had streaks in her hair was due to her mother's temper was unsettling and only seemed to make her dread even more. The fact that she wasn't comfortable enough on the Moon with outside of maybe the Inner Guardians to present more than an act... It did make her wonder just how much of the supposed perfection of the Silver Alliance was just a front.

"Usagi?" Michiru's voice brought her out of her train of thought. "Everything alright?"

"Thinking." Usagi said with a shrug not entirely sure if she wanted to elaborate. Though after a moment she found herself doing just that. "The Moon, its people, how much of what we actually know and remember is truth and how much of it might be a lie."

"That's a lot of heavy thinking for such an hour." Michiru noted. Admittedly after her own dream, she had been having some similar thoughts…wondering for a moment if the two memories were interconnected. Maybe something to further explore when they were all more awake.

"Yeah well, sometimes a dream can make us do that." Usagi said with a shrug. If she was honest some of this stuff, she had been mulling over for a long while before tonight. It's just every even slightly confusing memory seemed to bring it even more to the surface. "Anything new from Mamiko?" Last, she had heard from Michiru they still hadn't located Misako. Misako hadn't been among the people held captive by the youma. And the now increasingly disturbing search for the youngest Kaioh continued.

"No." Michiru said shaking her head. She had checked the texts when she had woken up, but nothing new from Mamiko meant the hunt for their youngest sister was still on. "Mamiko was going to go talk to our parents again." Frustration and worry over the situation burned at Michiru deep in her chest. Her little sister, their littlest sister, needed them. They should have been able to get to her and help her sooner. But their own parents' actions had prevented that for so long.

"I'm sorry I feel like I should have been there to stop it." Usagi said after a moment. She felt somehow responsible for the fact that Misako had been missing for so long again.

Michiru shook her head in the negative at that comment. "We've been over this. That would have required you being at the Graduation Ball. There was nothing you could have done differently. Don't blame yourself Usagi." That Michiru was sure on. The only one really that bore any blame at the moment was her parents for waiting weeks to tell Mamiko that Misako had gone missing. If they had told her from the very beginning things could be going very differently. Misako could be safe.

If it wasn't connected to a youma plot, which seemed to now be the case, then whatever had happened would have happened even if Usagi had remained in the program. Michiru had a feeling whatever had happened was using the Princess Seminar as a cover. That it had been just a not so lucky chance to take Misako when she had been fleeing Countess Rose's youma form.

Usagi drifted back to sleep a short bit later leaving Michiru to go over her own dream…

_Memories where Rhode was summoned back to Neptune's castle after she started guarding the outpost were a rarity, but a few did exist, so that was one thing that made the memory stand out_ _a_ _s soon as Michiru got her bearings enough to recognize the teleporter room. Then there was the fact that whatever had summoned Rhode back to the castle had her past self in a worried frenzy. Barely taking a moment to acknowledge the guard in charge of the teleporter before storming off in the direction of what she remembered vaguely to be the guest rooms_ _, o_ _nly stopping long enough to confirm the room of someone._

_Her objective and Michiru's confusion started to fade as she opened one of the doors to reveal a tired looking Serenity_ _, w_ _ho seemed to almost immediately perk up at spying Rhode. "Anavei!"_

" _Mare!" Serenity got up only to stumble a second later in her seeming excitement. Getting caught by Rhode. "Still as clumsy as the day I met you." Rhode said shaking her head drawing Serenity further into the hug. Ignoring the younger girls indignant sputtering at the comment at first._

_Pulling back with some reluctance to take a closer look at Serenity now that she seemed sure she wasn't badly hurt. They wouldn't be in the guest rooms if that were the case. They wouldn't be having this conversation period if Serenity had been really hurt._

" _What happened? I could sense something was wrong_ _. B_ _eyond that not much else. Why are you here again Anavei?" Rhode asked a frown now appearing. While the High Princess was always welcome on other planets and Rhode would take any excuse to see her, she usually didn't leave the Moon unaccompanied on such short notice._ _W_ _hat had brought this moment into bein_ _g? The list was short and none of it pleasant._

_I_ _n a way, Rhode already knew the answer to the question. That silver streak hadn't been in her hair when they had last communicated a few short days ago._ _An assassin could not have done that. Only one person could do that._ _Unless Serenity had managed to acquire the crystal,_ _the High Queen had lashed out at her daughter again._

" _Moni thought I needed to get away from the Moon…" Serenity began clearly reluctant. Taking Rhode's continued silence as an indication to continue. "Mother and I had another argument."_

" _That much is obvious." Rhode said shaking her head holding one of Serenity's silver streaks. "If you're not more careful your hair will be white before you even take the throne. And I thought you had stopped calling the High Queen that?" She hadn't heard Serenity refer to her mother by the term mother since before she had left Neptune. Having now found people in her life better suited for the title meant it had fallen out of practice._

" _It_ _'_ _s more of a habit on the Moon. It would draw unwanted attention to refer to her by title. I can get away with it on Neptune, but not_ _on the Moon."_ _Serenity admitted with a shrug before frowning slightly. "I thought you said you liked the idea of me with white hair?"_

" _I do. I just don't like how you are acquiring it." Rhode said shaking her head. It should be coming after Serenity had acquired the silver crystal_ _and_ _not a moment before. "_ _What happened_ _?"_

_Serenity noticeably hesitated causing Rhode to sigh. "Anavei."_

" _I know." Serenity let out a sigh before answering the question. "Mother is starting to talk about me getting married to Earth's Crown Prince, Endymion."_

_Rhode gave a sharp intake. "That could be trouble." All their attempts at secrecy could be for not depending on what the High Queen was thinking. "Did she mention bonding to him?" Though most likely if the High Queen was thinking marriage, she was thinking beyond that._

" _No but…" Serenity broke off for a moment chewing on her lip thinking something over before speaking again. "She might as well have. Especially considering her reaction when I tried to protest it. She's definitely thinking something more than just a silly political contract."_

" _Will figure this out somehow." Rhode said after a moment. She was concerned she wasn't going to deny tha_ _t, but t_ _hey might be able to use the High Queen's lack of attention towards her daughter to their advantage_ _. Perhaps even_ _use it to get the Earth Kingdom on their side. Though it may be a complicated task in the long scheme of things_ _it might be possible._ _"Theia and I will be there no matter what comes our way."_

" _Until the end_ _._ _I know." Serenity let out a sigh. "I just hope that mother doesn't figure out some way to bring the end about sooner._ _I fear where this will lead if she finds out. You didn't see her Mare_ _._ _She isn't going to let us go._ _"_

* * *

It had been a day since the end of the graduation ball. Right now, the group was reconvening to try and figure out what the next step was now that they had actual confirmation that there really was more like Jade that needed to be found.

"How many people are we looking for then?" Haruka asked after a short moment of silence looking between Setsuna and Masato, the two most likely people to know the answer to the question.

"I am not sure." Setsuna admitted with some reluctance. For a variety of reasons, she had never really met any of the Terran royal courts. She could guess how many could be in each court, but there was no way to have an accurate count. "Masato?" Him being married into that court would have a better idea than she would.

Masato let out a sigh trying to think for a moment. "I want to say there were ten in Ruby's and around twenty in Beryl's, but it's been long enough that I can't say for sure."

"Finding thirty people in a sea of thousands is going to be difficult…" Michiru noted with a frown. This was without knowing if all of them were even Youma now as well, or even if it was only thirty people. Masato himself was clearly unsure. This was not the ideal situation at all. Michiru could not imagine a scenario in which they managed to find everyone, but she could imagine Usagi's anguish at being unable to do so. She quietly hoped for a miracle to help them, to at least save as many people as they could for the sake of there princess and her heart. They really needed to find a definitive way to find these people. There was an unspoken concern shared amongst the senshi about there princess and a need to help her find more and not kill herself saving as many as they could. They needed to find a way to identify these youma and the sooner they did it, the better. Who knew how long they could wait until they had to confront Beryl and Metallia? They needed to free these people beforehand so Usagi would have some sort of peace going into battle. For there princess and for there friend. For the person, they all held quite dear, perhaps dearer than they thought they should in some cases.

"I hate to bring this up. But are we sure the only converted youma are from those courts?" Hotaru asked with clear reluctance. She knew just how big that implication could be. She even knew she was mentioning something the others might not like, especially with the way Usagi was with wanting to save everyone... but considering so little was known about the morphed group what was to say they weren't the only ones that had been transformed into Dark Kingdom servants? What was to say they might not run into this in battle and have their princess agonize over it then, having not known and not had it considered as a possibility? No. This needed to be brought up now, even if she hated the look on her hime's face and the pang it caused in her chest. While it was easy to forget sometimes, Usagi was not just Hotaru's friend but also her princess and someone she was meant to protect.

"That's a possibility." Setsuna admitted, taking a glance at Usagi's stricken and solemn face at that moment. She spent a moment trying to get a glimpse into the time stream. It appeared that they were approaching another event horizon she was not allowed to see because of her connection to it. Finding thirty people was nearly impossible. Finding an unknown amount…could they even do that?

"We really do need to find a way to identify them before we can do anything else." Luna muttered. An idea popping into her head right after she said that. It might be a long shot, but she needed to at least check into it.

"Was there ever a way, back in the Moon Kingdom, to find people like this?" Usagi questioned after a moment. Maybe the trick was to go back to something from ancient times. Usagi wasn't entirely what could help or what it would even need to entail but if this was something that could happen even then... maybe?

Luna frowned trying to sort through her own memories. "I'm not sure. I'll try contacting Artemis and see if he remembers anything." That hadn't been her idea, to begin with, but what Usagi had suggested wasn't a bad one. It was a shot in the dark but wasn't all of this? Trying to save these people was its own shot in the dark as things were now. What was one more impossible task upon a mountain of them already before them all? Luna thought on it wearily. When did it seem like something like this was a relief compared to what the girls were looking at? After this business, they needed a loooong vacation, of that Luna, was sure. The girls needed time to just be girls and young and not saving the planet from a force bent on draining or enslaving its people. She herself felt the need for a break, weary shoulder slumping under pressure. She could not imagine how much Usagi must feel right at that moment, and Luna knew she did. Usagi took every life on the line personally. She'd never said it directly, but Luna had a feeling she took it more personally than even she herself could fathom. Usagi definitely was feeling this more than any of them, and Luna knew they were all feeling this a lot. She sighed. These girls should be worrying about anything but this at their ages, and here they were trying to stop an ancient evil that had destroyed an entire solar system of kingdoms. Did they even have a chance? Luna shook her head. No. They had to. She couldn't lose them again. She couldn't lose any of them. She refused. They would have to find a way to survive, to fulfill their duties and survive this madness thousands of years in the making.

* * *

A day later saw Luna and Naoko going out to Masato's mansion. Normally Luna didn't go that far out unless she was accompanying Usagi. Getting places outside the triangle like Masato's mansion wasn't the easiest when you were just a normal cat. It was even more difficult when you were trying to get somewhere that was on the outskirts of Tokyo. Considering how little options they had in trying to find others like Jade and Rose they needed to see if Naoko could tell the difference between normal humans and these humans that had been rescued.

" _What am I supposed to be looking for anyway?"_  Naoko asked as they waited for the other woman to arrive. Luna had asked her to come out here to see if she could use

"Well, honestly, I am not entirely sure." Luna admitted after a moment of thought. She didn't quite understand how the Teuan's 'sight' worked, to begin with. It was slightly different than there ancestors, her people. She might be completely off on what would be an indicator of what Countess Rose had once been and no longer was. "It's a bit hard. They are normal humans now and were once upon a time, but for a period between that, they were something else entirely. We're trying to find some way to identify them so we can rescue others. I'm sorry. If you don't see anything different, I don't want you to feel pressured."

" _It's fine. It's nice to be useful and not looked down by someone else._ _I don't know what I am looking for or even if I can see anything different, but I hope I can help_ _._ " Naoko said after a moment. She had never tried looking for much of anything when she had encountered other humans. There had never been a reason too until now. But maybe this would be obvious? This was where being the only one who could use this ability certainly made things difficult.

"I understand. I just don't know what to do or how to help either, so we are searching under every rock and with everything we know for a way to find them and rescue them." Luna said shaking her head. She knew the possibility was low, especially since Naoko had never been asked to do anything like this, but they had to at least try. She couldn't walk away from this without at least trying. "Countess Rose." Luna greeted the woman as she entered the room.

"Masato said you were trying to find a way to identify others like myself and young Jade?" Countess Rose clarified.

"That is correct. We don't know how many of you are possibly out there. So, any help we can get is appreciated. Naoko here." Luna said motioning over at the other cat. "Can see auras, something that has been used in the past to find unusual creatures. We're hoping that since you were a youma, maybe there is something about your aura that is unique. If that is the case, then those who are still youma may carry something that marks them human turns youma. All you need to do is just sit there. Naoko should be able to determine with a quick glance."

" _I'm sorry she looks like every other human I've seen before."_ Naoko said shaking her head after a moment. Maybe if she squinted the aura was  _maybe_  a bit darker. Nothing that could be used to help them find more people like this woman and the girl she had heard about. " _Unless there is something I'm missing. I was never exactly trained in this like I said before."_

Luna let out a sigh. Well, it had been worth a shot. "It's fine. It was a bit of a long shot anyway. Thank you for trying Naoko." Turning her attention back to Countess Rose. "She's done you can leave if you want. Thank you for your time, Countess Rose." The woman nodded her head taking it as a dismissal retreating from the living room. Luna watching her go for a moment. She had been hoping.

" _I really do wish I could help._ " Naoko repeated after a moment. She had heard about how important finding these humans were. She wished that she could use this seemingly damned ability for something useful for once, but that woman really did look like any other human she had come across so far.

"I knew it was a long shot, to begin with. It's not your fault." Luna shook her head after a moment. Now to try and figure out if there was even a way out there to find these strange humans…

* * *

Setsuna quirked an eyebrow in surprise when Masato showed up at her place the next evening. The generals rarely paid a visit to her place. Usually, if they were meeting it was at the apartment the others shared. They were supposed to be meeting in a day or two along with Zoisite to talk about the new developments. Masato showing up at her place despite the invite to come by if needed was a surprise and one that set her dreading what he would say. "We've got a problem." His words confirmed what his presence here suggested.

"Beyond the ones we know about already?" Setsuna probed, wasting no time, as she let him in the apartment. If he was here, then it was important.

"Countess Rose isn't Terran." Masato said point blank. Setsuna inhaled sharply, that was a problem. Best case scenario Rose was originally from one of the planets that had fallen during the Dark Kingdom invasion having immigrated to Earth. Worst case was she had immigrated from somewhere outside the system. This threw a whole new kink into this none of them had anticipated. "We got talking, and she immigrated to Earth from her homeworld of Kinmoku when Beryl and Ruby were still children. She was hired by their family to help tutor them and eventually got integrated into their court. She's undecided as of this moment if she wants to go home or try to settle here again. Even, if she doesn't her presence, throws yet another wrinkle into the situation. She might not be the only non-Terran that got turned into youma." His words put out there the gravity Setsuna already knew, yet both needed to say it. This unbelievable thing. Some systems, this could even mean war if they ever decided to use it against Sol system's guardians and with no armies and no backup, it would be a slaughter.

"We need to contact Kinmoku." Setsuna realized. This involved one of their citizens. Even if Rose chose to stay on Earth and not return home, they needed to be brought to awareness that there was an evolving situation involving one of, and possibly more of, Kinmoku's people. "I'm not even sure if we can contact Kinmoku." Setsuna realized just then. Her reaction would be to contact them but... Their best bet would have been the long-distance communicators on the Moon. Yet with so much time having passed she wasn't sure if they would turn on let alone have a functioning other half on Kinmoku to talk with. Going to Kinmoku to talk directly to whoever was in charge now was out of the question. With things getting tenser and tenser with the Dark Kingdom making the long trip out and back was out of the question.

"I would offer to check Elysian's remains to see if anything is there, we could use, but I'm not even sure where that is now." Masato confessed. Trying to see if there were any ruins of Elysian hadn't been the highest priority at the moment, and even then, they might run into the same problem with the technology not working. Besides the memories that could have helped do just that were only now coming back.

"I can look into it myself." Setsuna said waving off the concern for the moment. Setsuna had a feeling they would soon be making a trip to the moon soon regardless. It hadn't been suggested yet but if it did happen like she believed it would be then stepping aside for a moment to try and grab the proper technology wasn't out of the question. Though now that she was thinking about it, wasn't Luna supposed to be filing things to the council in case of some sort of incident like this? If Luna was doing what she was supposed to then it should be simple enough to flag her down to ask about contacting Kinmoku. Setsuna felt stupid for a moment. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

End Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: And that's a wrap for this week.
> 
> Quick lesson. Mare and Anavei are both greek words and if the translator I used was correct, the former means sea and the later means illuminate. Thought they were fitting nicknames.
> 
> As always please remember to leave a comment or review. I always read them.
> 
> Next chapter goes up on February 1st. Until then here's a small preview:
> 
> "We knew we couldn't avoid eventually talking to her Luna." Artemis reminded her. They had been trying to avoid it, but they had both known that the best chance to get answers to their questions lay with the Moon Kingdom's archive. Even if there was a large degree of uncertainty if whatever they were told was the truth. "At the very least the Queen is the most likely person to have known how to destroy Metallia." Though who knew how strong those chances were. Despite everything else they had learned recently. He wanted to believe that the Queen had sealed and not destroyed Metallia for a valid reason. "If your that nervous maybe Minako and I should come along?"
> 
> "No." Luna said shaking her head. "Minako teleporting herself would be too dangerous. It would take too much time and effort to stop in England to pick her up. I'm sure it will be alright." Luna let out a sigh willing herself to believe her own assurances. "I'll figure out how to handle this myself." Luna tried to hide her obvious and worry about talking to the archive and took a strange comfort in knowing that Artemis, her mate, noticed. It was selfish of her really, but she took comfort in the fact he cared even as she wished to wipe the worry from his face. She wished he was hear, longed for it but dared not voice it.
> 
> Luna sighed pulling her mind back to the matter at hand, scolding herself half heartedly for thoughts straying to her love and her mate. Talking to the Queen wasn't the only reason she was nervous about going to the moon. There were so many 'ghosts' back on the Moon. Usagi's strongest memories of Serenity were still of that night. How would Usagi react being back somewhere which seemed to have brought her so much pain? Minako had nightmares much like Usagi did. How would she take it had it been decided to involve her? So many things Luna wasn't sure what to make of. How was she supposed to advise in this situation when she felt like she needed advice herself?
> 
> "Remember Luna, she's a hologram. She's not the queen and she can't hurt anyone now." Artemis tried to reassure her. Knowing that some of the concern wasn't just of the Queen.
> 
> Looks like they were going to the Moon.
> 
> That's a wrap for now. See everyone on the 1st!


	33. Secrets of a Dying Kingdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone welcome to this week's chapter. Sorry its so late today. I had a really long Friday. 
> 
> Thanks to Tsukikageshi for betaing as always.
> 
> Please remember to leave a review or a comment!

Chapter 33

Secrets of a Dying Kingdom

A couple of nights later Luna and Artemis were talking about possibilities in trying to figure out possible ways to identify others like Jade and Countess Rose. Unfortunately, it all seemed to be coming back to one thing. While it was something Luna had been suspecting they would have to do eventually that didn’t make her dread it any less.

“Our best chance would be asking the old archive footage on the Moon. That is, if it is still running.” It _should_ be Artemis internally reasoned. That thing was supposed to withstand the apocalypse. The Lunar Archive ran off old lunar magic from a time of magics long lost to the silver millennium. “Even if she herself might never have used that kind of magic to find people like Jade and Countess Rose there _could_ be a record of an ancestor doing something like that.” Artemis admitted after a moment of thought. There best chance of finding a previous case lay on the Moon.

“I know she’s our best chance at getting an answer on how to save these people but…” Luna trailed off there. She was no longer sure if the Queen would give her a straight answer. Her once steadfast faith in the queen eroded away over the past few months. As more and more things hadn’t added up, she had found herself second guessing what she remembered of the Queen. It had culminated in knowing the fact that Serenity had been stabbed by her own mother and her own memory of this. She wanted to deny it, but she felt it in the fragmented memory. She hoped this was something Usagi never remembered because regardless of Serenity's relationship with her mother it would have been a devastating betrayal. Even if there was a way to save these people would the Queen even tell them? The being who stabbed her own daughter from behind as the girl made her way to a transport to Kinmoku?

“We knew we couldn’t avoid eventually talking to her Luna.” Artemis reminded her. They had been trying to avoid it, but they had both known that the best chance to get answers to their questions lay with the Moon Kingdom’s archive. Even if there was a large degree of uncertainty if whatever they were told was the truth. “At the very least the Queen is the most likely person to have known how to destroy Metallia.” Though who knew how strong those chances were. Despite everything else they had learned recently. He wanted to believe that the Queen had sealed and not destroyed Metallia for a valid reason. “If your that nervous maybe Minako and I should come along?”

“No.” Luna said shaking her head. “Minako teleporting herself would be too dangerous. It would take too much time and effort to stop in England to pick her up. I’m sure it will be alright.” Luna let out a sigh willing herself to believe her own assurances. “I’ll figure out how to handle this myself.” Luna tried to hide her obvious and worry about talking to the archive and took a strange comfort in knowing that Artemis, her mate, noticed. It was selfish of her really, but she took comfort in the fact he cared even as she wished to wipe the worry from his face. She wished he was hear, longed for it but dared not voice it.

Luna sighed pulling her mind back to the matter at hand, scolding herself half heartedly for thoughts straying to her love and her mate. Talking to the Queen wasn’t the only reason she was nervous about going to the moon. There were so many ‘ghosts’ back on the Moon. Usagi’s strongest memories of Serenity were still of that night. How would Usagi react being back somewhere which seemed to have brought her so much pain? Minako had nightmares much like Usagi did. How would she take it had it been decided to involve her? So many things Luna wasn't sure what to make of. How was she supposed to advise in this situation when she felt like she needed advice herself? 

“Remember Luna, she's a hologram. She's not the queen and she can’t hurt anyone now.” Artemis tried to reassure her. Knowing that some of the concern wasn’t just of the Queen.

Looks like they were going to the Moon.

* * *

A few short days after Luna’s talk with Artemis came some much welcome news. Mamiko arrived at the apartment about mid-morning with Misako in tow. Finally bringing an end to what felt like the world’s longest two weeks.

It had been a terrifying long last couple of weeks that had lead down many dead ends searching for the girl. The entire situation being worsened by how long it had taken to get the information from their parents about Misako even being missing let alone that there was a ransom out for her.

The weeks of terror seemed to melt from Michiru as she held Misako tightly, her hands still shaking with emotion and all the grief she had held these past weeks seeming to give way to her relief. There would be things to worry about later. What had happened, how had Mamiko finally been able to find their baby sister, where were they going to go from here, but right now it all seemed trivial.

* * *

“How is she?” Michiru asked a little while later. They had relocated to the living room so her and Mamiko could talk while keeping a constant eye on their younger sister. Misako looked mostly fine, but she hadn’t been present for the medical screening that she was certain Mamiko had put her through whenever she had finally found her. 

“Some scrapes and bruises but nothing life threatening. She’s probably more mentally traumatized than physically.” Mamiko said following Michiru’s gaze to Misako. “Between the youma and whoever it was that was holding her captive it’s been a rough last few weeks.” None of which had been helped by their parent’s behavior. This hadn’t needed to go nearly as long as it had but thanks to their parents it had.

“When did you find her? When we talked last night, you said you hadn’t been able to find any new leads.” Michiru pointed out frowning. She didn’t think Mamiko would have kept her finding Misako from her so there had to be a reason. She just wanted to know it.

“I got a call a couple of hours after we talked. A tip from someone out on the outskirts of the city saw someone acting suspiciously with her. We had to move quickly. There was no time to think let alone make a phone call and to be honest, I'm not sure I could have said anything until I saw her after that anyway. I could have gotten in trouble you know, being connected to this case because she's family. That's not really allowed but because I kept my head, they allowed it. If I had called you and broken down, if I had gotten emotional at all...” Mamiko said shaking her head. They had acted almost as soon as they could on the information. As much as she would have wanted to call Michiru to update her they had a window of time to work with. “Been up almost all night dealing with all this. This was the first free moment we had.”

“Do you wish to crash here for a bit?” Michiru asked. Shinjuku, where Mamiko lived with her husband, was a good twenty minutes by train and if she really hadn’t slept last night navigating the Tokyo subway would be a chore. “We could easily keep an eye on Misako while you sleep.” She doubted Misako would be going back to their parents’ place in the immediate future and her mind whirled with ways to stop that from happening if anyone tried to make them let them take her after this.

“That’s not the worst idea.” Mamiko said, conceding to the idea after a moment of thought. At the very least she wasn’t in the mood to deal with her husband. They had an argument last night when she had left for the tip on Misako. Something that seemed to be happening in increasing number recently.  She wasn’t quite ready to deal with him herself let alone expose Misako to him right after everything she had been through.

“Maybe she should see Setsuna.” Michiru muttered to herself mind tracking onto a different subject for a moment. If she trusted anyone to make sure Misako came out of this in any remote sense close to okay, it was Setsuna. Though she had no clue if Setsuna was even willing to take on a new patient regardless of connections.

“She’s probably one of the only people we can trust and not write off what Misako saw as delusions.” Mamiko agreed. There were some people they could trust at her workplace, normally with sensitive intelligence, but this went beyond even normal levels of sensitivity and no one else who had seen these things was equipped to handle this sort of trauma in a child or teenager. “Which reminds me, we might end up having to tell her about this.”

“Is that a safe? She’s already been indirectly involved with one plot.” Michiru said frowning slightly. It would make things easier, but it seemed like they were letting a lot of people in on their secret recently. Even if it was actually necessary.

“I’m not sure if it is so much safe as keeping it from her is unrealistic.” Mamiko countered shaking her head. “The only reason we get away with not telling our parents is, in part, thanks to our parents’ behavior towards you and distance. That’s not necessarily something that we can count on with Misako, especially after the youma incident.” Mamiko said shaking her head. She understood more than most why information about the senshi was such classified information and even then, why what they had on the senshi themselves was so limited. It was for the safety of them and those close to them. “She’s a smart kid. She’s going to question why she’s seeing Setsuna at the very least, versus someone who knowingly works for me. It might end up coming out whether we like it or not. All things considered it’s probably better for her to learn it from you rather then have her discover it on her own.”  

Michiru frowned at that. “You’re talking like she’ll be spending more around us than our parents.” Michiru didn’t think either of them were in either of their parents’ good graces after that very public spat after the Princess Seminar, not that she honestly cared that much at this point what her parents’ thought. They had shown to have far from the best judgement with just the whole handling of the Misako’s disappearance. She wasn't on board with sending her back, but she needed Mamiko to say what she had planned however, before she made plans of her own, as Mamiko seemed to have this all mapped out and if she planned to take their little sister into her own home.

Mamiko managed to crack a small smile at that. “That’s because she will. I’ve got emergency custody of her -thank Kami. The courts were more than happy to award it after I told the judge of our parents’ behavior.” Mamiko said shaking her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever trust our parents around her after all that’s happened. I know things are difficult and it’s not going to improve right away for any of us, but this is a step in the right direction.”

* * *

“Why did we have to wait until the full Moon to do this anyway?” Uranus asked about a week after Luna’s talk with Artemis as the group was gathered in a nearby park in the middle of the night. Preparing to make the trip to the Moon. It seemed like such an odd specification. Luna had seemed insistent when she had first told them the latest plan in trying to figure out how they could find the people that had once been like Jade.

“The Moon’s stages influence Sailor Moon’s powers. The fuller the Moon the more powerful she gets. When performing tasks like this every little bit of power comes in handy.” Luna explained.

Sailor Moon looked down at Luna with a frown. “You’ve never mentioned that before.” That would have been helpful to know beforehand.

Neptune frowned something occurring to her. “If that was the case for Sailor Moon wouldn’t the orbits of our own planets affect us also?”

That caused Luna to freeze. That was something that had never occurred to her and kind of brought into question just how much the Moon’s phases effected Usagi’s powers if at all. “I’m not sure.” Luna said after a moment. Something to possibly ask Artemis about later. Though if you started thinking about it that way it started to sound a lot less like a fact and more like an old wives’ tale of sorts. Either way the deed was done. Luna shook her head deciding to investigate it later.

“Gather in a circle." Luna instructed. "What you’re going to need to do is pull your energy and focus on what you remember of the Moon Kingdom. That will set you in the correct direction of getting to the Moon. Pluto your probably the only one who has good enough memories of the teleporter room so you’re going to act as a guide when coming in.” Luna said turning to the oldest senshi. She normally would have asked Sailor Moon to do this task but based on what Usagi remembered about that room it was a bad idea. It would require the girl to draw on unpleasant memories. Based on what she knew that had been where the Inners had done their last stand. Serenity hadn’t died there herself, she had died out in one of the courtyards. But still that room would be anything but unpleasant for Usagi. Best to ask the one senshi who didn’t associate the teleporter room with violence and death. “Concentrate. Your magic will do the rest.” Part of her hoped there were at least some things Usagi might be spared the memory of.

Luna hopping onto Sailor Moon’s shoulder just as the teleport activated. Sailor Moon couldn’t help but wonder why it felt like her world was about to get turned on its head again? A flash of light and then the five of them disappeared. Leaving only some pieces of rubble as traces of who had just been there.

* * *

Sailor Moon had thought she would be okay. She thought since the Kingdom was long in ruins, she would be okay standing in the room where her guardians had been tortured and then killed before the youma had done the same to her. The room was in ruins. Very little remained to remind anyone of what had happened. Yet when she stood there all the awful memories of that day came flooding back. Uranus gave her a concerned look. “Are you all right?”

“No.” Sailor Moon felt like she was going to puke. These halls still echoed with screams and despair for her. These halls themselves seemed to be made of ghosts of the past. Sailor Moon went between that terrible night and brief flashes of servants and noble's and even guards and her senshi as she starred at different areas she could see. She could almost imagine things as they were and yet it was overshadowed by that terrible night that made up most of her memories of her life as Serenity.

Looking around the room the inner senshi had died in once more Sailor Moon reminded herself that the others had all been reborn and as far as she knew were safe, alive, and healthy back on Earth. Sailor Moon forced a smile as the others unconsciously moved closer to her as if to protect her from this place itself. “Let’s get out of here. Do you remember where were going Luna?”

Luna affirmed that she knew with a nod of her head as a sharp look, a furrowed brow, and a swish of her tail revealed she worried for Sailor Moon. It was quite clear to her and probably the others that Sailor Moon was having a hard time coping with whatever had happened here. It was best not to linger on the Moon longer then needed. They had an archive to find. “Follow me.”

* * *

Sailor Moon had found herself surprisingly okay at first walking through the remains of the once beautiful castle once out of the teleporter room. If she didn’t let herself look too much or get too distracted, she couldn’t think about just what the last few moments on her once home planet had been like. That had lasted up until the moment where Luna had led her to the part of the ruins the archival technology had been hosted. And she saw what lay inside the area. A very familiar grey sword that haunt been haunting her dreams a lot of lately. The last time she had seen that sword it had been in her mother’s hands. She wondered how it had ended up in this room of all places. Or in that pedestal now that she thought about it. She barely even registered Luna telling the others to remove it from the pedestal or Uranus finally yanking it out. She was far too caught in remembering that sword go through her. She caught herself looking for her blood on the blade before closing her eyes a moment to stop herself.

“Sailor Moon?” Luna asked glancing at the girl in concern. She had turned a shade of green at seeing the sacred sword. That was not a normal reaction especially to an item that was meant to protect the princess. Then again, she realized in belated fashion that had been the sword that the Queen had stabbed her with.

“Just keep it away from me please.” Sailor Moon said, voice steadier than she felt if soft, taking a few steps back from it as she became more aware of just how close it was to her. She wanted nothing to do with it. In the end it had served the opposite of its intended purpose. She would never forget.

Uranus frowned at her sub spacing the sacred sword for now. “Are you sure your all right?”

“I’ll be alright.” Sailor Moon said smiling wanly."Let's get this done and go home." She thought she could handle a simple trip to the Moon. Apparently, this was more difficult then she had anticipated. “What do I do Luna?” Sailor Moon asked turning to her.

“You’ll need to step up to the pedestal and speak your formal title. That should activate it.” Luna instructed after a moment.

Sailor Moon took a deep breath trying to settle her nerves. And stepped forward to the pedestal.

* * *

Trying to talk to the holographic version of her former mother felt... well, she wasn't really sure what to feel. Usagi really didn’t feel like she knew her that well even with the new memories in place. The Princess hadn’t been exaggerating when she had pointed out to Venus that she used to see the Venetian Queen more than she had seen her own mother. A lot of her childhood had involved various nannies and it had never really felt her mother was her mother.

“I figured you would one day come here. Though I must admit this wasn’t quite the group I imagined would be here.” Queen Serenity said scanning the group with a frown. The Inner Guardians primary job was to protect the Princess. The fact that it was the Outer Guardians filling this role was well a bit odd even to her.  There was obviously a reason why they had been the one drawn to her, but she had nothing beyond speculation now and some of her own knowledge that she couldn’t share. “Last I had heard from you, Sailor Pluto, you were still standing at the Time Gates.” Pluto’s presence in the group was probably the oddest.

“I left my post on Chronos’ orders Queen.” Pluto answered the question that wasn’t being asked. She knew the holographic Queen probably had other questions. But none she could or would ask in their present company. Not if she wanted to maintain certain illusions.

“Well if he ordered you with my daughter, he must have had good reason.” The Queen finally said after a moment of thought.

“Queen-” Sailor Moon began only to be broken off by the Queen.

“Regardless of what life you’re in you’ll always be my daughter. Call me ‘Mother’ not Queen.” The Queen said shaking her head slightly at the comment.

“Mother then.” Sailor Moon said a bit reluctantly. The word sounded strangely foreign to her when using to address the Queen. Even with her memories. “Things have been a bit difficult on Earth. They came to me because I needed them. As much as I care for Harmonia and the others who I needed is right here.” Somehow, she just knew as close as she had been to the Inners things wouldn’t have started to resolve itself for her without the Outers. For one she would probably be still stuck at Juuban, possibly repeating a grade, and dealing daily with Yuki. It’s not that she didn’t care for the Inners. It was just she had needed the Outers more.

“Of course, whatever is best.” The Queen said though something about the smile seemed a bit strained to Sailor Moon. But maybe she was imagining it. Why would the Queen have been opposed to her being around the Outers? “So, what brings you here this evening?”

“We recently became aware of a situation involving some of the Dark Kingdom youma. Some of Beryl’s court have been turned into youma. We are trying to understand how to identify them.” Sailor Moon explained.

“Fascinating.” The Queen said more to herself then to the others. “I knew that Beryl was a queen of one of the minor kingdoms under Elysian. I didn’t realize her court had followed her to the Dark Kingdom. Shows quite a bit of loyalties from the adult members.”

“Not all of them are adults though. Jade’s just a child.” Sailor Moon said mind going to the young green haired child that was soon to be her adopted younger sister. As soon as the paperwork was sorted out.

“That doesn’t mean someone can’t follow another person at a young age Serenity.” The Queen said. After all the Senshi had their loyalties ingrained in them as children.

“Jade’s different.” Sailor Moon said shaking her head fists balling slightly. Jade still didn't remember much of anything from Ruby becoming ill to her purifying her. But it just didn’t feel like Jade had found herself in that situation from loyalty towards Beryl. Maybe she was wrong about some of the others, but she doubted that sincerely, and she felt there was more to at least Jade’s situation.

“As we were saying my Queen, we were hoping you might know of a way of identifying other youma with the Ginzishou. So far, they’ve all looked like each other for all intents and purposes. We’ve been able to find two of them mostly by accident.” Neptune said cutting in. She normally wouldn’t have cut in. But judging by the Queen’s face her opinion on Beryl’s court decisions wasn’t going to change no matter what Sailor Moon said. The argument would turn out to be fruitless and could go on for a while if allowed to continue.

“How did you find the first two?” The Queen asked after a moment.

“First one was an accident. I was healing her thinking she would revert to her previous form. And out popped a much younger girl. Second one we were expecting something might happen and it did. However, I just got access to the Ginzishou, so we haven’t had much chance to try anything or see how many of them there might be.” Sailor Moon admitted. She had it for just over a month at this point. With her lack of training, well, all she knew of what she could do with it she had learned in this life not the last.

“How did you find the Rainbow Crystals?” The Queen asked after a moment. The key to finding the courts might lie there.

“The Moon compact usually reacted to the holders.” Sailor Moon said after a moment. Or at least she thought it had. They only had really used that method once. Every other time things had progressed too quickly, or they had been confirmed through other methods. So, she hadn’t really checked.  “Wait how did you know the crystal was split up?”

“That was the safekeeping method created in case of an apocalyptic event to protect the crystal. It was a failsafe created well before my reign. I may not have the records to remember using it but it’s the only thing I would have been able to do.” The Queen explained. It might not have been the easiest task but for the safety of their home it had to be done. “I bring them up because that might be the only method to track down these humans turned youma. Unfortunately, this is a task I never tried and have no previous records of so I can’t be certain if it will work.”

Sailor Moon let out a sigh at that. Well it was better than nothing she guessed. Though she been hoping to have a definitive solution leaving here. Guess that would have been too much to ask for. “Thank you, Mother.” The words felt wrong and she resolved to call her mom in this life as soon as they got back. Guess there conversation was done for the night. She really didn’t have much in the rest of the way things she could ask.

Sailor Moon found herself hesitating for a moment about asking something else before deciding to keep quiet. She had a lot of questions surrounding the Moon Kingdom and her previous life. Mainly the one that had been bothering her for a long time, _why_. Why hadn’t her mother stepped in and done something, anything when the youma had turned on her daughter? She kept her mouth shut. This wasn’t her mother. Just a manifestation of her that had been updated on a routine. One that would have not had time to have been done before the Moon Kingdom fell. Thus, one that would not be able to answer her prodding questions. Ultimately, she chose to keep quiet rather than voice her question. It wouldn’t do any good to ask when this archive wouldn’t be able to answer her one burning question.

“Excuse me my Queen one last thing. There is something I need to know. Did you realize that the Great Warrior Youma of the Dark Kingdom originally hailed from other planets than just Earth?” Luna asked stepping forward slightly to ask. She normally would have just let Sailor Moon talk and get her questions out of the way. This was more for her after all then for the others. This was something that had been bothering Luna for a while. Had the Queen just assumed they were from Earth or had she known they had hailed from all over the system?

“No, I was unaware. I truly believed they were all Terrans. I should have paid closer attention to what was going on elsewhere. In hindsight.” The Queen said the last bit more to herself then to them. She had been so busy helping to prepare for the expected arrival of Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion’s babies that she had let most of the trouble on the other planets be handled by the other Queens. She knew there had been reports of people going missing. But she hadn’t realized that the Dark Kingdom might be where they were disappearing too. “If that’s all I am going to go into sleep mode. If you need me again, feel free to return.” The hologram blinked off leaving an empty pedestal in its wake.

* * *

“This looked like it was a huge room.” Saturn said as they passed through another part of the castle to return to the point they had teleported in from. Luna had gone ahead all ready and was waiting for them there. She had spent even less time on the Moon then the others had growing up, so she had even less of a frame of reference for what the Kingdom once was. Glancing around she thought she saw what looked like dark stain off in the corner but considering the kingdoms history decided to not draw attention to it. It could mean anything depending on the rooms use.

“It was. Huge and open. We used to hold court here a lot because it was easy for people to come in and out of. Lots of good memories here.” Sailor Moon said giving a bit of a smile. This had been one of her favorite places in the palace to spend time growing up. But her last moments here had been far from happy she remembered her smile quickly fading even as she tried to concentrate on the happier memories and not the last moments she had spent in this room. There was so many more of the former when compared to the later. So why did her mind keep going back to that instead? “You okay kitten?” Uranus asked putting a hand on her head. She had seen how Moon was getting lost in her thoughts.

“Just some memories that’s all.” Moon said still trying to force a smile again. But found she really couldn’t, not here at least. It was hard considering the memories the room held. But if she let everything that the room held towards her get to the surface, she might have a full break down.

“It’s alright.” Neptune said putting a hand on her shoulder to try and reassure the younger girl. The unspoken part being that she didn’t need to hide behind a facade. The Moon held the most memories for her after all. This was where she had lived died all those years ago. It couldn’t be easy on her to be here. “Whenever you’re ready.” It probably wouldn’t be tomorrow or next week, or maybe even next month but Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto would be there for her whenever she was ready to talk about it.

“Thanks.” Moon said relaxing after a moment the attempted smile completely disappearing. Though only slightly.

* * *

No one was quiet sure how, in hindsight, the recording had gotten tripped. Other than one moment they were the only ones in the remains of the room. And the next it was filled to the brim with people. Five youma were up on sort of a pedestal surrounding a figure.

“Holograms.” Pluto helpfully supplied seeming to be the least shaken by the sudden appearance of the figures. If it was a room that had held court once it made sense. They would have had devices to record events and important proceedings. Someone must have tripped the device either intentionally or not and it had recorded Serenity’s death. Despite Pluto's composure there was a slight telltale tremble that suggested she was just the best one at hiding it. Especially as they got a better sight of Serenity’s state who they were quickly realizing was the figure surrounded by the youma.

Her bright blond-silver hair matted with blood and butchered. Her usually bright blue eyes had a dull glassy sheen to them. There was what looked like had been a large stab wound on the abdomen, that seemed to have been partially sealed by some form of fire, though it was far from Serenity’s only injury. The what appeared to be normally a pearly white dress she wore was ripped to shreds and it was only because they knew it should be white that they even knew it was ever so to begin with for nothing was left to give it away as such. She had five youma standing around her.  One of them, their apparent leader with light blue skin and yellow hair, was addressing the crowd with her back turned towards Serenity.

“Oh god she’s still alive.” Neptune realized after a moment hand covering her mouth in shock. At first, she hadn’t even been sure of that judging how bad Serenity’s condition was.

Though judging by Serenity’s own struggle to just breathe she was on the verge of death. But somehow, she was still there. Clinging to life by what had to be the slimmest of margins. For a moment she wondered where the Inners were and why they weren’t preventing this. But after a moment of frantic searching she found her answer. Further off the distance she could make out the mangled form of Venus. Dead, all the Inners were dead. And going by their own memories they had been dead well before the final invasion. Meaning Usagi or rather Serenity had no one else that could save her from a gruesome fate.

“She may as well be dead though.” Saturn said after a moment. Serenity might still be alive, but her eyes were that of someone begging for the embrace of death. Not for the first time she wished there had been a way for her to interfere. And at least given Serenity some peace and prevented this from being such a long drawn out affair. She wondered just how long Serenity’s death had been dragged out for.

  _Tonight, we end the Lunarians!” The youma paused for a moment to let the mob roar back. “Tonight, we end the Silver Alliance. No more abominations. No more unnatural people looking down on you for being who you are. Tonight, it all ends!” The mob roared its approval back with enthusiasm._

 _T_ _he youma turned its attention away from the crowd and to Serenity’s form. Hands sharpening to form a blade before plunging into Serenity’s wound drawing a scream from her as it forcible reopened and then widened with a circular motion. This went on for a couple of moments until she seemed satisfied with her work and the blade came to a stop._

_Serenity’s continuous scream finally giving way to a deep moan of pain as the youma yanked finally her arm out revealing the form of an infant. Seeming to hold it up to the crowd for presentation the infant squirming slightly. And then a moment later one of the other youma’s arm blade skewered it. And all movement ceased._

_T_ _he first youma tossed the now body to the crowd before turning back to Serenity. And repeating the process with Serenity screaming again as a second infant was pulled out. But this one was different there was no movement from the second infant the entire time. Suggesting that she was quiet possibly dead before she was forcibly taken out of Serenity’s womb. The process was repeated._

_“No more princesses. No more heirs. No more Moon Kingdom!” The youma sneered at the roaring mob. Before grabbing Serenity’s, own prone form and tossing it at the awaiting mob. Whom attacked with a renewed frenzy._

_“S_ he should be dead.” Neptune said in horrified realization her voice breaking into the recording for a moment as a sword was sent straight through Serenity. She could make out Serenity’s struggled breaths as someone pressed a piece of rubble onto her chest. She was tinkering on the edge of death and by all accounts should have passed over a long time ago. “How is she not dead?”

“Someone’s using healing magic.” Was Saturn’s horrified answer. “They’re forcing her body to remain alive as long as possible.” Mentally she was pretty sure most of Serenity was gone the moment the twins had left her. Maybe even before that. She seemed only half aware of what was surrounding her distracted by a pair of ghosts only Saturn and her could see. Eventually the healing magic wouldn’t be able to sustain Serenity in her condition. Serenity was too far gone. Too badly wounded to keep living. Part of her suspected she had clung on as long as she had just for the children that had been killed. Question now was how much longer?

_Serenity seemed to be mumbling something to someone unseen. It was too quiet to be overheard over the noise of the mob. And most likely it wasn’t meant for anyone that was there with her physically. One of her hands seeming to grope slightly at the air around her. Another whispered word came out of her mouth and a deep sigh as her eyes closed._

_A moment after her eyes finally shut a sword went into her chest. Piercing her heart judging by the location. It was finally too much for both Serenity and whoever was sadistically forcing her to remain alive. As she gave a final deep exhale and passed._

_And then a moment later the recording finally cut off._

 Sailor Moon had bolted at some point in the later part of the memory. She had seen it enough times from her own perspective already she hadn’t felt like seeing it again. Uranus had followed her shortly. Leaving just Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn for the moment. A beat of silence passed before Neptune asked. “Did you know?”

“That her death was _that_ violent?” Pluto clarified. At Neptune’s nod she shook her head. “No. I knew no one that was member of the major court on the Moon died a quick painless death. I had inklings of suspicion because I saw her body after wards. But I was unaware of just how violent and drawn out Serenity’s was.” It was disturbing to say the least and Pluto had a sinking suspicion judging by Serenity’s condition at the start this was only a fraction of what she had been put through. Though the only one who knew that for sure was Usagi.

Neptune nodded her understanding before taking off in the direction that she had seen the other two vanish. Saturn spoke up quietly. “I should have done something differently.”

“You didn’t have a choice in the matter Saturn. Besides the fate of the Moon Kingdom had been sealed even before those orders were passed down to you.” Pluto said after a moment. She had seen the way things were going and had been powerless to stop the end of her home. “We were ultimately the most susceptible to the Queen’s moods whether we liked it or not. If I hadn’t been on magically restricted orders that night I may have gone to the Moon and try to rescue her. As it was…”

“The Queen forbade you from leaving.” Saturn realized. Senshi of Pluto’s first duty might be to protect the time stream, but the Silver Alliance had been Pluto’s birthplace and home. These had been her people she wouldn’t have as easily stayed at the Time Gates if there hadn’t been a superseding command.

“By the Gods if I had known and could have left, I would have pulled her out. Orders be damned she shouldn’t have had to die alone like that.” Pluto said to herself more than Saturn. To talk about betraying a direct order from the Queen was in the line of treason. In the end, her saving the princess may have been just delaying the inevitable. At least she could have given her a peaceful, more comfortable place to pass. As it was, she had been released from her post by Chronos for a short period only after the Moon had already fallen. By then it was too late, and she could no longer do anything of use. So, she had stayed at the Gates, seeing her post as punishment.

“Actually, in the end she technically wasn’t alone.” Saturn said after a moment. In more than one sense of the word too. Physically Serenity had been surrounded by a mob in her dying moments. She hadn’t been alone spiritually either. Considering everything that had happened she was kind of shocked. The way the Queen had done things she would have thought that would have been impossible, but she guessed in the end some things transcended everything else.

Pluto frowned seeming to sense Saturn wasn’t talking about the mob, going over a moment what they had seen before it clicked. “They actually came to her?”

Saturn nodded her head. “Right before she passed. I couldn’t make out what either of them were saying other than they were speaking and trying to comfort her. I think one of them was saying it was okay to let go.” It had looked like they had told her to let go right before she had passed.

“In the end she couldn’t deny them even in death.” Pluto noted to herself.

* * *

Uranus eventually found her sitting a few hundred meters away on the ground. “Harmonia used to teasingly call this my crying room. I liked to come here when I got upset over something.” Sailor Moon admitted with a slight sniffle as Uranus took a seat next to her rubbing a hand in comfort on her back. “Never thought I would be coming here again.”

“Why didn’t you tell us it was that bad?” Neptune asked finally coming up behind them and taking a seat on the other side of Sailor Moon. No wonder Usagi had been having severe nightmares for weeks now. Those images would probably be haunting her own mind for years to come, perhaps for as long as she herself lived. She could only begin to imagine the amount of agony and despair.

“I watched the children I was expecting get taken out of my body through the very stab wound my own mother inflicted! Yeah that’s an easy conversation to start!” Sailor Moon noted sarcastically before calming down. “Sorry.”

There was silence for a beat as it sunk in just what Sailor Moon had said. “She did **_what_**?” Neptune was the first one to find her voice after that revelation her tone icy.

Sailor Moon flinched in her state of being upset she had briefly forgot what in what they hadn’t been had been shown. It was out now nothing she could do about it at this point. “She stabbed me. Mars tried to stop the bleeding so we could get through the teleporters, but they found us and...” Well that wasn’t the only thing she had done before disappearing. Sailor Moon wasn’t ready to talk about it and they would want to talk about it.

“Why would she-” Uranus broke off obviously having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea. “Why would anyone-” She pinched her nose slightly. “Your her daughter. You were carrying her grandchildren. Who in their right minds does that?” 

“I don't know. I passed out for a moment after that. Next time I came to I was alone.” Sailor Moon sniffled slightly. “I managed to drag myself to where the Inners were. Mars tried to cauterize my wound hoping it would buy me time until I got actual medical help. The DD girls showed up shortly after and it went downhill from there. I never saw her again. Let alone had a chance to ask why she did that. I thought about asking the archive, but I don’t think they would know either.” She let out a sigh one hand rubbing the spot her mother had stabbed. “Not that it matters I think the youma would have done what they did anyway with or without an entrance wound.” Sailor Moon was greener than anything and was very glad she hadn't eaten before they came.

“Where the hell were the Inners during all of this?” Uranus wondered. Why hadn’t they stopped it or at least gotten her to safety before her own mother could get to her.

Sailor Moon stiffened at the question drawing a curious look from Neptune. Wondering just what else the princess had been put through before she had finally died. It was becoming obvious that there was quite a bit more then what they had seen. “Dead.” Neptune answered before Sailor Moon could. “I saw Venus’ form in the background of the hologram. I figure if she was dead then the others must have also been dead.”

“Venus had to watch them all die and then get their corpses tossed to the mob when the youma finally decided they were done with them and almost done with her.” Sailor Moon quietly admitted. “They broke her in so many ways…”

“How did it go so wrong?” Uranus asked after a beat of silence. There was supposed to be contingency plans to prevent the kind of chain of events that had led to the fall of the Moon Kingdom. Yet they had all failed.

“Greed is the undoing of many a good people. Lunarians included.” Pluto said as her Saturn finally joined up with the rest of the group. They had lagged for a few moments to give the three some space.

“Your saying this all got started because someone got greedy?” Uranus asked skeptically. She knew greed was one heck of driver, but this seemed a bit much.

“To put it simply yes. As twisted as it was the lead youma wasn’t technically wrong when she said the Lunar Matriarchy wanted to control the Earth. She just had the wrong Serenity.” Pluto said shaking her head. The Queen had been more interested in complete power over the Terrans. The princess had just wanted to be a good ruler to all her people, regardless of what planet they hailed from. Unfortunately, with the twisting of words, though even if it had been straight who knew if it would have made a difference, they had targeted the princess before the one who really was power hungry.

“I’m still wondering how in the world we managed to procreate.” Sailor Moon muttered to herself. Those had to be Endymion’s children she couldn’t see herself past or present or going against someone she had been with.

“Well when a man and a woman-” Uranus began teasingly.

“Not what I meant!” Sailor Moon said cutting in flushing a bright red. Letting out a sigh. “I meant the longer I have her memories the more it seems like that even back then it didn’t seem like Serenity’s feelings towards him were more in line of something towards a brother, not a lover. They must have really wanted kids or something.”

‘Or something is just about right.’ Pluto noted. Sailor Moon didn’t have a clue how close to skirting the edge of the truth on the subject on how she became pregnant with the twins. Sometimes Pluto would love to tell them just how messed up things had been in the royal family. Sailor Moon had an inkling of it, knowing her mother had stabbed her own daughter, which was why she had deemed it safe to talk about the fact that the Queen had wanted complete control. Serenity, even with all the other things messed up, had still been aware of that. She would love to maybe talk about all the issues. The reality was unless a specific set of events happened, she would probably never know the truth.  “We should get going back to Earth.”

“There’s one thing I want to get before we go.” Sailor Moon said getting up and taking off in the direction of her old rooms during the Moon Kingdom. If she was here, she might as well try and get the necklace that she had seen Serenity wearing in her dreams at times. It was a broach, but not the one she used to henshin. She didn’t even know where Serenity had gotten it from. Just that it had always seemed important to her.

Sailor Moon felt she needed to take it back to Earth with her. If it hadn’t been destroyed anyways. She had a feeling it was safe, she doubted anyone would have paid much notice of it. It had seemed like it was important to Serenity and only Serenity. She doubted the invaders would have known that it was something of value. Sailor Moon herself still didn’t understand why it had been so important to Serenity.

It took a moment to find the spot where Serenity had once stored it. And to move some of the rubble away but smiled upon seeing it. It looked like it had in Serenity’s memories with some obvious scuffs and scratches that hadn’t been there back then. A heart shaped broach with a gold outline with two different colored blue stones making up half of the broach. She wasn’t sure what the other stones were at the moment. Maybe something to investigate once back on Earth. Slipping it into her sub space pocket. She hoped that someday soon she would understand what the necklace had once meant to Serenity.

* * *

_For once when sleep came again that night it wasn’t about Serenity's death._

_Usagi looked around her dreamscape surprised for a moment. She had become quite accustomed to feeling herself die while watching from the sidelines in the consciousness of her current life. She watched for a moment as she saw her past self._ _Serenity twirled the broach she recognized from the Moon and prior memories in her hands for a moment. Feeling lost on how to proceed. Her mother knew now there was no going back. Not without access to the crystal itself. She had given her an ultimatum that she was unsure how to respond to. Neither option was optimal and meant pain for someone whether it be for her or others._

 _Serenity quickly tucked her broach_ _away as she heard someone approaching her bedroom door. If that was her mother, then she didn’t want to know what she would do upon seeing such an item. For some reason she had always reacted badly to seeing it and she could not afford her fury this time around. Serenity's shoulders tensed as the door opening only to be flooded with relief as Queen Amphitrite, Rhode’s mother, walked in without her own mother. “Mo-” Serenity cut herself off before she could continue afraid of who might overhear her. She had become rather close to the Neptunian queen during her stay on Neptune. Something her own actual birth mother wasn’t aware of. Something Serenity never wished her to find out._

_“It’s all right I put up some illusion magic. No one except for those with specialty training can hear us.” Queen Amphitrite said waving off the concern. “She didn’t hurt you this time?”_

_Serenity shook her head. “No. She got mad, but she managed to keep her magic under control for once. Harmonia said she let it loose later after I was banished back to my rooms.”_

_“That’s good at least.” Queen Amphitrite said relaxing slightly._

_“I’m so sorry. I don’t know how she found out.” Serenity said shoulders sagging. Her confusion returning. She didn’t understand how her mother had found out. They had been so careful about how they interacted around those who didn’t know. Someone must have seen and let it slip to her._

_“Your mother always had a strange way of knowing or finding out things that we couldn’t figure out. It might have never been anything you actually did or didn’t do Nixie.” Queen Amphitrite reassured her. “Has she told you what she wants you to do?”_

_'She has supposedly given me a choice. Forget and seal or step down from my title. I don’t want to forget.” Serenity admitted her voice sounding scared admitting for the first time where she stood on the matter. Her mother was supposedly giving her a choice in her fate. Forget everything the other two meant to her. Or step down as the crown princess. Though she wasn’t entirely sure who was in line for the throne after herself, it wasn’t exactly something that had concerned her before, considering she had no siblings or direct cousins. Serenity had a sinking feeling that she didn’t have a choice. No matter what she said her choice was, in the end her mother would always go in one direction. “I don’t know if I actually have a choice. I don't think it will be that easy.”_

_“Knowing your mother, you may be right.” Queen Amphitrite agreed. “I’m guessing Aphrodite hasn’t been able to talk much sense into her or else we would be having a different conversation.”_

_Serenity confirmed nodding her head slightly. Harmonia’s mother had been arguing to leave them be when she had seen her briefly, particularly since this could affect her daughter’s own bond with Alcippe. “I don’t understand why she can’t let me be happy mother?” Funny Usagi thought for a moment despite the lack of blood relation this felt more natural than her attempts to call the Queen by that same title. This might be why she was obviously close to the Neptunian Queen, or had been before they had all died, and something told her that Serenity and the Queen had never really had that kind of relationship. “What is supposedly so bad about me wanting to be with them?" Serenity asked looking at Queen Amphitrite again tears in her eyes._

_"Nothing Nixie. Absolutely nothing." Queen Amphitrite admitted with a sigh._

* * *

Sleep had seemed to come easier for Usagi than it had previously been. Not by much but easier. For Michiru and Haruka this was not the case. Sleep was proving to be evasive since the trip to the Moon Kingdom. Both had spent countless nights simply watching Usagi sleep and needing to make sure she wasn't in any sort of harmed state. Both were haunted by dreams of watching and being unable to do anything, hands going straight through anyone and everyone, of all they could do being to wait for her to die.

“At least I understand why she kept trying to hide it.” Michiru said quietly as the clock flashed 2am. She ran her fingers through a sleeping Usagi’s bangs. Her and Haruka had been talking quietly about what they had seen. “If that’s a fraction of what she lived through…” She shivered lightly at that thought. They had no time frame for how long Serenity had been suffered so probably the whole event was, likewise, worse than anything they could imagine. Neither had imagined anyone could even die like that, least of all Usagi's past life Princess Serenity.

“Wonder how much she actually felt…” Haruka trailed off in thought playing with a loose strand of Usagi’s hair. She knew based on Serenity’s reactions she had felt the twins being forcibly taken from her body. After that…god she hoped she hadn’t felt all of it.

“Most of it.” Usagi said softly. They hadn't realized she was awake let alone listening to them.

"Sorry.” Michiru apologized. "Did we wake you?" Usagi shook her head and both Haruka and Michiru breathed a collective sigh of relief. They had been trying to keep quiet enough to let Usagi sleep. Suddenly, what Usagi had said started to hit home as she paled. “ _Most of it_?”

Usagi hesitantly nodded. “Well almost all of it. I, she, we stopped processing most of it when the twins finally died, I didn't feel the sword going through my chest, or I did but I didn't all at once. It's hard to explain." Usagi shivered, her skin forming goose bumps rather suddenly. She felt queasy just thinking, let alone talking about it.

“I have no clue how you survived that long…” Haruka muttered into Usagi’s hair. Having drawn the girl closer again so her head was just under her chin.

“Healing magic.” Usagi and Michiru said together. “Serenity had minor training in the area. Enough she could recognize it when-” Usagi broke off there not really wanting to talk about just what it had meant. It still made her wonder just how sadistic someone had to be to force her body to keep living at that point. How much did someone just hate the Moon Kingdom to force her body to keep going when it was on the verge of death?

She was pretty sure being cut into and having something pulled out of your own body would have been more than enough to kill most people. She should have been dead long before she was tossed to the awaiting mob. “I think the only reason she finally died when she did was because a sword to the heart was too much for the caster. Otherwise I might have lived through that too.” Usagi found herself unable to stop shaking.

“You remembered it all at once didn’t you.” Michiru spoke softly after a moment. It explained the severity of Usagi’s nightmares. To remember such a long drawn out event in a singular moment…

“Almost.” Usagi corrected. “I remember being escorted to the teleporters about a day before everything else.” She let out a sigh her eyes taking on a distant look. “It didn’t help that what must have been only a couple of hours was stretched to eons by those youma.”

“I thought Setsuna said most youma couldn’t actually mess with time. That sounds like they were messing with it.” Michiru wondered aloud to herself. That didn’t seem quite right either though. She had a feeling if there was a known youma with a domain of Setsuna, Setsuna would have gone after it all ready.

“They weren’t messing with time. They’re kind of like a more powerful version of that youma we ran into at the clock shop back in January. They knew how to stretch a person’s perception of a moment. Or maybe it was just the moment itself and how-” Usagi broke off. “Though really they were more than just illusions. They felt so real.” Usagi shivered at that hands running up and down her arms. A particularly nasty illusion coming to her mind. “She must have died what seemed like a thousand times before they finally got tired of using her as a plaything and dragged her out in front of that crowd.” And that wasn’t even countering in the amount of deaths of the Inners. The Inners had been dead before they had turned to her as a plaything, but they had still found some way to use them against Serenity. “Do you know what it’s like? To be kept under an illusion so real that it might as well have happened anyway? To be frozen solid by Mercury’s ice or slowly electrocuted to death by Jupiter’s lightning? To be burned alive by Mars fire or choked to death by Venus’ chain? Or-” Usagi cut off there before she could get any further. She had let too much slip as it was. She hadn’t even meant to really go off on that. It just had started coming out. Normally she wouldn’t have even started on what had happened that terrible night. She was just so tired. It didn’t matter none of it had been real. It had all felt real.

“Or what?” Haruka asked raising an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure if they would get a response. She was shocked how much Usagi had let slip during that rant.

“It’s nothing. I said too much.” Usagi said shaking her head. She didn’t want to reveal everything Serenity had gone through.

“That all happened?” Michiru said sounding a bit faint as she tried to process what Serenity had gone through. No wonder Hotaru had said that she had been begging for death by the time she had faced the mob. To ‘die’ repeatedly by the hands of the people meant to protect you even if it all had been illusion…and she doubted that was the only ‘deaths’ Serenity had suffered through even if Usagi wasn’t willing to admit it quiet yet.

“Not exactly. By the time she went under the illusion everyone else was dead. She was forced to watch the Inners be slowly murdered in front of her own eyes and not be able to stop it. Serenity knew it wasn’t them. I think that was part of it in a way. She thought that if it could be real she'd trade her life for even one of them.” Usagi let out a shiver at that. “So real actually she couldn’t really tell the difference in her dying moments.” The line between reality and illusion had been so blurred in the end Serenity had barely known if her own children were still alive. She had one final moment of clarity at the end to realize that they were still alive or had been. Enough to realize that the younger one was going to be murdered horribly. And just enough time to withdraw the magic that had been keeping them alive, so they wouldn’t both suffer such a painful death in the end.

“I don’t get it why Serenity? Why go after her? What in the world could she have done to the youma that made them hate her so much to do well _that_?” Haruka said expressing her confusion as some of the shock of what Serenity had been put through began to fade and give way to horror. No wonder Usagi hadn’t wanted to talk about it for so long. She couldn’t blame the girl!

“The others were just obstacles in their way. Serenity, however, would have been a symbol of everything wrong with their situation. To them at least. So, while the others may not have had quick deaths, they would have held the youma’s attention for a short period their goal would have been Serenity.” Michiru realized more than a bit horrified about not only what had happened. But the realization that it had to have been a methodical intentional thought process. Meaning it had been planned well in advance.

“Still. The Queen was the one at the center of it all.” Haruka commented scowling. Why not go after the Queen instead of the princess?

“They couldn’t find her.” Usagi said after a moment. “They actually first started on Serenity on orders from someone in hopes that her screams might draw her out of hiding.” She let out a sob at that. Even knowing that she probably wouldn’t come after having stabbed her own daughter. The fact that she had most likely intentionally left her daughter to die a painful death…Haruka’s hand gently stroking her hair as she started to calm down. Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference in the end. Maybe they would have both been killed. Maybe she wouldn’t have been tortured for so long if she had just shown herself.

“I’m starting to think the Queen wasn’t all she was made out to be.” Haruka muttered. Earning a raised eyebrow from Michiru. Usagi chose to ignore the comment for the moment. She had seen enough in her memories on and off to _know_ the queen wasn't what she was cracked up to be already.

* * *

_She was a ghost, Michiru knew that much. She wasn’t sure what the time line on her and Haruka’s past selves’ deaths were in line with the fall of the Moon Kingdom. Other than she was certain that they had been dead long before the Moon had fallen. How was she here? Looking upon Serenity’s slow death from a different angle than the one they had seen before? How was her spirit able to come here when by all accounts it should have long been gone from this world?_

_To add to her growing confusion, Theia as she had been known back then flickered into her spiritual form next to her past self a second later. How were they both here? This wasn’t supposed to be physically possible. How had their spirits been dragged back here after their bodies had been long dead? What had summoned them?_

_Apparently, her past self understood something she didn’t. As a moment or so later she drifted down to the form of Serenity who was slowly being killed by the mob. Making the decision that even though she couldn’t take Serenity’s pain away, she could try to soothe her at least. Make her passing maybe a bit more bearable. Rhode wanted to be able to put Serenity’s head in her lap but with no physical form it was impossible. She had to settle for trying to just gently run a hand through the remains of Serenity’s silvery blond hair even if it was all in vain. Softly humming an old Neptunian tune she had learned in her childhood. Theia taking one of Serenity’s hands and seeming to try and rub it._

_Serenity blinked for a moment. And she seemed to finally realize that they were there. “Rhode, Theia.” She greeted them one after the other. “You still came.” Her tone was a mix of relief and a slight touch of disbelief. As if she had been hoping they would come to her but had given up hope on this happening. It made Michiru wonder how she had been expecting them._

_“Of course, we still came. We wouldn’t let you die alone kitten.” Theia said shaking her head. “Until the end like we promised.”_

_"_ _I know that’s what we promised but after everything-” Serenity cut off there for a moment moaning in pain someone pressed down a piece of rubble against her chest. After a moment she uttered a sentence so quiet Michiru almost missed it. “It’s all my fault.”_

_Michiru didn’t know what Serenity was blaming herself for but her past self knew. She shook her head slightly saying. “It was never your fault. It’s the fault of her for not being able to see that she was killing her own Kingdom by interfering like she did.” Rhode placed a gentle kiss on Serenity’s forehead just above the crescent moon. “No one blames you for what she did. After all you were a victim in this as much as the rest of us were.”_

_Shortly after that a sword was run straight through Serenity’s midsection Theia told her to let go, her tone pleading with Serenity. Though even as Theia made that comment she could tell that Serenity couldn’t at least not yet. Someone was hell bent on making Serenity live as long as possible. Something Serenity apparently knew as she uttered. “I can’t.” Fear leaking into her voice a bit as she asked. “Stay with me?”_

_“Always.” Her and Theia echoed._

_“Until the end.” Serenity responded which gave Michiru pause something about those two sentences said together sounded familiar. And extremely important. But to her ever growing annoyance she couldn’t understand what was so special about them. Serenity’s eyes closing a final time as a sword ran through her chest a moment later. Before she gave a final exhale finally being allowed to succumb to her injuries._

_A moment later Michiru was vaguely surprised to see a ghostly apparition of Serenity sit up and out of her body. The fact that Serenity looked like she was supposed to before the youma had gotten their hands on her was what gave it away as it being her spirit and not some miraculous recovery. “Come on everyone’s waiting for us.” Theia’s spirit form said giving Serenity’s hand a slight tug. And a moment later the memory ended as the trio vanished into the next life._

Michiru woke up as the memory ended covered in a cold sweat. Closing her eyes for a moment trying to process what she had just seen. She tried to settle her stomach and failed. She rose and went to empty the contents as smoothly as possible before rinsing her mouth, brushing her teeth numbly, and returning. She lay back down, drawing Usagi closer to her as she let Usagi’s rhythmic breathing remind her that Usagi was alive now and that was all that mattered. No matter how many deaths or near-death experiences the girl had experienced in the past.

Opening her eyes again when she heard Usagi’s muffled voice speak. “I’m sorry. This is why I didn’t want you to see any of it.” Usagi said drawing back a bit so she could be heard a bit more clearly. “I didn’t want you to have to share in my nightmares.”

Michiru shook her head slightly at that. “It’s not your fault. None of us could have anticipated there was a recording of that there.” Reaching out to touch Usagi’s cheek Michiru hoped to convey reassurance that it was not Usagi's fault.

“Why was there a recording of that anyway?” Haruka surprised them both by revealing she was awake also.

Usagi frowned turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling going over what she remembered of that night. Trying to piece together what she remembered the youma saying in the courtyard. By that point Princess Serenity had been so far gone and in so much pain she had only a basic level of what was going on around her. She hadn’t even known what the lead youma was saying before tonight. Everything had sounded so muddled by that point. “I don’t know.”

Michiru frowned for a moment. “Somehow I doubt it was an accident.” That didn’t seem like something you accidentally hit record on to her.

Usagi closed her eyes for a moment. “Probably not but I don't know why.” The only thing she could maybe think of is maybe the youma had recorded it to go back and watch it during their free time. They certainly seemed like a sadistic enough type to get pleasure out of Serenity’s death. “I’m sorry you both had to see that.” She knew that they said it was fine, but she really hadn’t wanted anyone else to ever see that.

“We would have seen it with or without the recording.” Michiru confessed after a moment. Earning a surprised look from both Usagi and Haruka. Which meant the later still didn’t remember that night. “I don’t understand how I have that memory, but I remember, and I remember Haruka. We called you to us, came to guide you to the other side.”

Usagi didn't know what to say. She still wouldn’t wish that kind of memory on anyone though this brought a new realization. “So, it wasn't an illusion.”

“You knew about that?” Haruka asked still trying to wrap her head around on what Michiru had said had happened. She would love to have her own memories of the experience they had had apparently.

Usagi nodded her head. “I remember her seeing them, but I wasn’t sure if it was real at the time. Considering how much pain she was in…well her hallucinating when that close to death didn’t seem...” Usagi explained. “Venus seemed to think there was a chance you two were actually there, though she didn’t understand how or why either.”

* * *

A couple of days after the trip to the Moon things with the other two were sorted out. Or at least as sorted out as they were going to get at this point. Now she needed to address how her other two senshi were dealing with. Setsuna she had an appointment coming up in a few days, so she could wait at least for now. Hotaru on the other hand hadn't returned any of her calls and Usagi was worried about her. She had been very distant since the trip to the moon. It was nearing lunchtime as she got to Hotaru's home.

Usagi held a small item in her hand gently to herself as she walked up to the door. She hoped it helped. It had costed her entire allowance and she wouldn't be able to splurge on sweets for a while, but she knew Hotaru collected lamps and liked purple more than any other color. It might seem silly but the lady at the store had said amethyst was good for healing and soothing and she also hoped that worked for Hotaru as well. She flitted nervously with the small item in her hand. It was a small lamp about three inches tall made of an amethyst crystal on a small stand with a lightbulb inside. She had made sure you could change the light bulb and the lady at the store had gave her a look before she had explained she'd never had one before and was buying it for a friend who collected lamps and that her friend had been down lately. She hadn't elaborated but the lady had explained patiently how to care for the lamp and had even helped her find a wireless solar version she hadn't been able to afford. The lady had kindly dug out and tied a purple ribbon on the lamp for her friend. It was tied around the bottom of the crystal and secured in a pretty bow looking for all the world like it belonged there to start with. Usagi hoped this might put a smile on Hotaru's face and remind her she wasn't alone.

Usagi took a deep breath and knocked on the door. “Hello Dr. Tomoe, is Hotaru in?” Usagi asked as Hotaru’s dad opened the door.

“She’s in. I’m assuming her current state has something to do with whatever trip you five took recently?” Dr. Tomoe said with a critical eye. The words weren’t there but Usagi could see them, the subtle accusation in his eyes. Hotaru had probably been having nightmares about what they had seen on the Moon.

“I’m sorry. There was a recording tripped on the moon. It was... I died rather horribly in that life. I never wanted any of them to know.” Usagi admitted. That was the truth. She had been hoping to keep the talking about her death to just that, talking. Not showing the others. She had realized from the get-go that her death was that of nightmare fuel. She guessed it had been a small mercy they had only seen a fraction of what she had been put through. “Still wished they hadn’t seen it.”

Dr. Tomoe let out a sigh. “Hotaru mentioned you were having such severe nightmares at one point you ran yourself thin before the older girls intervened.” He left it open for her to either confirm something or let it drop.

“The nightmares are about what they saw. But it wasn’t the only reason I collapsed.” Usagi said shifting slightly. “I was trying to cover it up with some illusion magic. It was working great at first but between that and my other job. I ran out of energy. Literally.” She paused for a moment. “I knew how bad they were.” Her voice dropped to a whisper for a moment. “I didn’t want to burden them.” Tears pricked Usagi's eyes as Dr Tomoe had her sit on the sofa for a moment.

Dr. Tomoe let out a sigh. “I’m sorry.” There was nothing else he could say. He worried for his daughter and her friends. If this was what Usagi remembered from that time, then what might his daughter end up remembering? Would there be more instances like this? More nightmares? Or would they imply become numb to it. He didn't know what scared him more, that they might have many more nightmares ahead or that they might have so many they would forget what it is like not to have them and become numb to the horrors.

Usagi picked at the ends of the bow on her present for Hotaru before shaking her head. “It's not your fault.” She gave a sad smile and continued softly. “I am worried about Hotaru. I just want to make sure she is alright and maybe find a way to cheer her up. I brought her this lamp. I had to ask for help from the lady at the store and-” "Thank you Usagi. She will love it." Dr Tomoe took pitty on the poor girl seeing as she had begun to ramble.

* * *

“Hey.” Usagi greeted with a smile that didn’t quiet meet her eyes as she slipped into Hotaru’s room.

“Hey.” Hotaru greeted back as Usagi shut the door behind her taking a seat on one of the rooms couches. “Surprised Papa let you in.” He hadn’t been happy with the aftermath of the Moon trip.

“I thought he was going to throw me out and tell me to never come back at first. If his eyes had been daggers, I'd be long gone by now.” Usagi laughed nervously remembering Dr Tomoe's face upon answering the door.

“It seems like every time I go to sleep. I see her in front of that mob slowly bleeding to death.” Hotaru softly admitted. Serenity’s eyes, among other things, had been haunting her for a while. She almost wishes she had still been alive at that point. Just so she could have done something to alleviate Serenity’s pain. But she had been dead well before Serenity’s body had breathed her last breath.

“I’m sorry.” Usagi said quietly rubbing her head affectionately. This was part of the reason why she had refused to talk about it.

“How long?” Hotaru asked after a moment. It wasn’t something she really needed to know just something she had been wondering about to be honest.

“I’m not sure you want the answer to that.” Usagi began with hesitation. Honestly, she wasn’t entirely sure she knew the answer to that question.

Hotaru shook her head sure in her decision. “How long?”

Usagi let out a sigh not entirely sure about having this conversation. “I don't know. It felt like eternity and then some, but I know it really wasn't. Hours? Days? I don't know.” Usagi said quietly. Usagi shivered slightly at that. She could still remember and almost feel the sensation of having the twins ripped from her womb even now so far removed from the event. Having to watch in horror as she could do nothing as her first born was skewered to death. She had been able to spare the second born the same fate. But the sensation and feeling of having both of the small newly formed bonds at the time fill with pain and then fade away would be something that would probably haunt her until the end of time. “Everything was taken from her in such a short amount of hours.” She shook her head after a moment. “I’m sorry I came here to help not make the situation worse.”

Hotaru shook her head. “No, I asked pretty much for the answer you gave. I knew what I was getting into. Besides I knew it couldn’t have happened instantaneously.” That was true one didn’t get in a state like that in a short time frame. “Were you alone in the end?” Well okay she knew the answer to that, but she wondered if Usagi knew that herself. She hoped she realized she hadn’t been so alone in that mob.

“Yes and no. I think Haruka and Michiru’s past selves came to my side in the very end.” That still didn’t make sense to her. By all accounts, according to Luna and Minako, if anyone should have come to her it should have been Endymion. Yet even as Usagi thought it the very idea felt wrong in the same way it felt natural for Michiru and Haruka's past selves to have been there. Besides, Usagi thought, considering her mother’s own involvement in his death she wouldn’t have been shocked if he had wanted nothing to do with her even in death.

Hotaru couldn’t help the slight twitch of the lips at that. Good. Serenity had been aware that she wasn’t alone. It was such a little thing but at least she had had company and been aware of it. Hotaru realized another thing that saddened her. “No one else came. Not even her own mother to try and rescue her?”

Usagi let out a snort despite herself. “Mother didn’t care. If she had she would have come when the youma tried to draw her out of hiding by torturing me.” Or been part of the reason the youma had started on her in the first place. Not that she was telling Hotaru that.

Usagi worried over Hotaru while fiddling with the gift she hadn't handed over yet. “I never seem to ask you guys. But how do you handling remembering your death in all that chaos?” Well she didn’t talk about it much with Haruka and Michiru because she knew how they had died. Setsuna had been stuck at the Time Gates. Hotaru though? She didn’t know when her mother had called on her to try and destroy the Dark Kingdom.

Hotaru winced at that. “I was dead long before the fall of the Moon Kingdom.” She wasn’t sure what was worse the fact that her own death had done little to stop the fall. Or the fact she had been summoned on those orders in the first place.

Usagi stared in surprise. That was unexpected. “I thought you were summoned in the middle of the invasion.” Or at least that’s what she thought she had remembered Luna saying at some point. Though looking back with what they knew right now, Luna being wrong on this wasn’t that much of a shock unfortunately. She had never seen Saturn or any of the Outers during the fall. Mainly because two were dead already, the third was stuck, and Saturn apparently had been killed long before the invasion it sounded like.

“That’s what I thought too until the Ginzishou’s seal was released.” Hotaru said shaking her head. She had thought her last moments had been during the heat of the invasion as a turning the tide moment. It had become quickly clear that wasn’t the case.

Usagi frowned slightly trying to think how Hotaru could have been dead before the Moon fell and she could only come up with one thing. “Assassination?”

Hotaru nodded her head deciding that was probably the best descriptor even if it may not have been the right one to use. However, with the way things stood right now she couldn’t use better ones without raising some eyebrows. So, what was technically half right about the matter was going to have to work for now. Still, assassination wasn’t the term most would have used to describe Hotaru's death in that life.

“I was dead from the moment Saturn’s true power awoke.” Hotaru said after a moment. This is what scared her the most about having to reawaken. Would she die having to save the world simply because of something she was born into? She would do it for her friends, for her father, but even as senshi of death and rebirth the thought of having to die still scared her for some reason.

Usagi seeming to sense the younger girl’s fear drew her into a hug giving a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t know how yet but I promise you I won’t let you die this time.” Usagi had lost too much both in this and her previous life. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else.

They sat like that for awhile before weeks of tension seemed to release from both of them in Hotaru's room. Usagi finally handed over her gift. "I brought this for you. I thought it might cheer you up." "Thank you Usagi" Hotaru's smile was worth it in Usagi's opinion.

* * *

Hotaru watched Usagi go a few hours later from the front of her house. Thinking about the last few days and her own troubles. And her father’s initial reactions to them. Some of it came from the fact that her father didn’t truly understand the importance Usagi in this life held, or Serenity had held before her. Sure, he had seen some of it but not all of it was obvious. Some of it went further back in time to when she was still Princess of Saturn. Serenity had been one of the first people to accept her upon arriving on Neptune to be part of the guard during the rebellion…

_“Your different.” Makaria admitted shifting a little, they had been discussing how she was handled compared to her fellow senshi. How Serenity’s own behavior seemed to vary when compared to the others._

_For Makaria it hadn’t been easy to find acceptance outside of her own family. Growing up had been a lonely existence, and upon her arrival on Neptune she had been hoping for some change in that regard and had lost hope for that when Uranus and Neptune’s senshi were obviously weary of her no matter how they tried to hide it. Not unfriendly, which was nice, just weary. Maybe there was still some hope, though how much of it existed Makaria herself was unsure. “Most are too superstitious to try and get close.”_

_“You have done nothing to earn these looks.” Serenity said shaking her head. “I’ve learned it's best to judge others with my own eyes.”_

_Makaria thought of every person who didn't know those words Princess Serenity had spoken with a sad shake of her head. Hotaru mentally added a lot thinking of her own experiences in both life times with people being superstitious towards her among other things. Makaria spoke up after a moment in an easy silence. "People can go a life time and not realize that it seems.”_

_“I am not as sheltered as some make me out to be.” Serenity said with a bit of a wry smile. “I used to sneak out of the castle with someone, so I could see the Moon’s people itself. And not just through what my tutors told me. I saw the negative impact superstitions can have firsthand. Mostly on the people who choose to live over on the ‘Dark Side’ of the Moon.” A frown appeared on Serenity’s face for a moment before disappearing._

_“Really?” Makaria’s curiosity noticeably peaked at this alongside Hotaru’s when she had first regained the memory. She didn’t have any clear memories that even talked about a Dark Side of the Moon. For that matter, who outside the Queen could have gotten away with taking the Princess out, since based on her own memories and Usagi’s occasional comments about her behavior it definitely wasn’t Serenity’s mother. “Who did you used to do that with?”_

_“I can’t seem to remember.” Serenity admitted face scrunching in frustration for a moment hand going up to her forehead. “I know I used to do it quite often and with someone in particular but beyond that I’m not sure…”_

_“You didn’t hit your head, recently did you? Princess?” Makaria asked tilting her head confused as she then held her head in her hands in pain right where they sat on a bench in the gardens of the Neptunian palace. It seemed like such an odd detail to forget unless Serenity had been forced to forget something. What could be so bad about trying to understand your people that you either had your memories erased or sealed?_

_“It’s just a headache.” Serenity said shaking her head after a moment. “I might be a bit clumsy at times, but I haven’t taken that many hits to the head.”_

_“Just concerned. Most headaches don’t appear from thin air, princess.” Makaria noted. It was more than a bit strange that the headache would come on when talking about a seemingly benign subject like superstitions. It suggested something a slight bit unsettling, at the very least, and best situation the princess was blocking out due to some trauma. The worst case was the memories surrounding whoever this was had been sealed, and that raised the question of why such a thing would be necessary. A frown crossed Makaria’s face. “Your crying, princess.”_

_“I know. I’m not sure why though…” Serenity said shaking her head again. “I’m alright. I just feel like I’ve forgotten something important. I don’t understand what I could have forgotten.” Serenity wiping her cheeks after a moment though it seemed to be in vein since the tears kept coming. Confusion evident on her face._

_"_ _I’m sure you’ll find your answers someday princess.” Makaria attempted to encourage. She held her own doubts on the subject. Depending on why Serenity couldn’t remember the details of why she used to sneak out to the Moons Dark Side it could be eons before she got the answers she was looking for._

Hotaru frowned slightly at thinking about the memory again. The reason behind Serenity’s tears had never been answered. It hadn’t been the last time the princess had found herself strangely crying either. It was one of those strange mysteries that she had gone over and over again until she couldn’t seem to find any more details about it.

Though considering she already knew... Serenity and several others had had their memories messed with. It didn’t feel like as much of a stretch to think Serenity had some part of her memories sealed away as it had been back when she had been part of the guard on Neptune. That raised its own questions. Just how many times had Serenity’s memories been possibly messed with and for what reason?

Hotaru knew more than some of the others, just due to having more intact memories, and yet she still didn’t understand Serenity’s spontaneous crying. That unnerved her since it suggested that maybe even more was hidden from not just the others but from there princess as well. 

* * *

Setsuna reminded her at their appointment, why she was her doctor. They had strayed onto the topic of her being Usagi’s therapist and why she was best suited for it. Well besides the fact that she remembered Usagi saying she had felt like sometimes she was being treated like a lab rat.

Their shared senshi duties was another reason. So that Usagi wouldn't need to keep secrets from her. Sestuna understood Usagi's need to protect those around her from the horrors she could recall, and she needed her to understand desperately. “I am the time guardian. The others do not understand what that truly means but I've seen things I can never say, some of them terrible things much like what happened during the moon kingdom. I will not say I like it or that I feel nothing but Usagi, the time guardian is not allowed to be made of glass. You will not break me by sharing this burden with me.” During speaking Setsuna had, uncharacteristically, gotten down on her knees in front of her princess, in front of Usagi, and grasped her hand as if doing so could convey the message she felt in her heart. The normally composed senshi could not help but think that if anything could break her it would be to be so close and so unable to help as Usagi took everyone on herself whens he should not have to do so at all. Least of all the things of a past life she should have been free from had anything in the universe been even remotely fair to her. 'Please! Let me help!' Setsuna thought as a tear fell seeming to snap Usagi out of silence.

“I’m sorry.” Usagi tried a smile that came out more sad than anything else as she slid down to hug Setsuna. “I'm so sorry.” Usagi repeated. She got she should be more open with the others on what happened with her. So much had happened that night. Sestuna already carried many burdens as did the others. Everyone held there own world on their shoulders, and she didn't want to burden them because she wasn't strong enough to carry hers. She didn't want to cause them hardships or nightmares or heartaches with hers. She just wanted to protect them but look what she had caused! 'Setsuna! I'm Sorry!' She thought as she hugged Setsuna, who sat there almost stunned before holding Usagi, both sitting on there knees on the floor between Setsuna's chair and the chair Usagi had been sitting on before.

Having regained herself Setsuna stroked Usagi's head in a maternal gesture she might not have otherwise thought herself capable of. A few tears escaped Usagi and Setsuna spoke in a soft voice somewhere between a maternal sternness and a gentle understanding. “Usagi. We all have to share our burdens to carry them. It is when we do not that we become weak. No one was made to carry anything they do by themselves. Please understand that it is not just myself but the others that worry when you take it all on by yourself.” Setsuna reminded her. Even if they hadn’t found out on the trip to the Moon, they would have most likely found out sooner or later. The only one who may never have found out without the Moon trip would have been Hotaru. That was due to her death falling well before the fall.

Setsuna had been planning to make a trip to the Time Gates to get some questions answered and had been planning to check on what just had happened to Serenity during the fall. She would have found out, if not only so she could understand to better help Usagi. Chronos would have allowed it as would the time gates by extension. This she Sestuna felt deep within herself where she was ever connected to time, Chronos, and the Time Gates. Usagi could not have kept this from everyone forever but she might have tried.

“Sometimes I wish I could just forget I remembered it at all.” Usagi said softly after a moment. Sure, before she had remembered she had been curious to know who she was and what she had done. While Usagi didn’t regret getting most of it back, it had come with the bad as well. The bad was almost enough to outdo all the beauty in those memories. Seeing the look on Setsuna’s face she elaborated. “Don’t get me wrong I don’t regret becoming Sailor Moon or the people I remember. It’s just that one particular memory.” No Sailor Moon or Serenity and her life would be a different darker place right now. She may regret a lot of things but ultimately becoming Sailor Moon and discovering who she had been was had to be one thing she did not think herself capable of regretting.

“Unfortunately, we can’t always pick and choose what we remember.” Setsuna reminded her. This was the opposite of her views on the loss of day Shingo had died. Usagi wanted those back now, though Setsuna did wonder if she ever gained them, she would find her regretting that decision. To better understand why she couldn’t save Shingo or anyone else in the surrounding area.

If Usagi could have those answers without the memory she knew she would take that, and she knew it. With this memory, Usagi had never asked for it or wanted to know but had been given it anyway.

“I feel helpless, but I remember meeting Michiru and Haruka and days spent dancing despite her wanting them far away and laughing with the inner senshi. I remember Luna and so many people who were very kind. There was so much bad in Princess Serenity's life and so many people who wanted to use her or control her, her mother worst of all, but she had her senshi and she had people she kept going for and to protect in any way she could even as they did everything they could to shield her from the queen as much as they could. Even with everything sometimes I feel more helpless because this seems the only thing I can do and yet it didn't protect any of you. Please forgive me. I cannot protect you the way she could. I can only be Sailor Moon and hope to help in hopes none of you fall in battle or become trapped at the time gates like what happened to you all in that life. Please forgive me for being weak.” Usagi poured out her heart to Setsuna dissolving into heart watching sobs.

"Just as you find the strength to fight the Youma against your own heart please let me stand with you Usagi, when the enemies are memories or simply feelings. I will support you as you support me, but you have to let us do these things for you as you have done and continue to do for us. We cannot come in if you do not let us Usagi." Setsuna spoke softly to the girl who had become scrunched up against her as the tears flowed freely down her face and wracked her entire body rather than simply her shoulders. These tears were her heart coming out her eyes. Perhaps from both lives together. 'You are anything but weak Usagi.' Sestuna thought as she let Usagi cry herself out offering what comfort she could.

* * *

“Kinmoku?” Luna asked in surprise the following evening when Setsuna approached her about contacting Kinmoku. She had grabbed the right technology from the Moon to be able to try something else if this wouldn’t work but Luna was still not sure about this. “Why would we need to contact Kinmoku?” Luna frowned seeming to realize something. “So, you know?” She should have known Setsuna would know even as the equipment she had retrieved from the moon to call Kinmoku for just that reason weighed heavily on her now.

“Jade is Terran. Rose however isn’t. There’s a high chance Rose isn’t alone. We might try the method you use to contact the council.” Setsuna explained as Luna looked at her before sighing that Setsuna did not elaborate.

“That is true.” Luna agreed tail twitching slightly as she frowned in thought as she let Setsuna into the basement area where some of the more sensitive equipment was stored. She could contact the council above ground easy enough at night but not in broad daylight. Below ground it was. She could almost hit herself that she didn't think of using this to try contacting Kinmoku rather than wait to go to the Moon to obtain the equipment from there. “I’ll admit I’ve never tried using this to contact anyone other than the council representative that’s assigned to us.”

“When and how did you have time to get this installed?” Although Setsuna had been aware it was here from knowing some things in the time stream, she wasn't aware how long it had taken and was genuinely curious as she glancing around. This looked almost exactly like the old comms room back at the Moon.

“You would have to ask Artemis. I’m not sure how he got it here.” Luna said shaking her head approaching the comm. It had already been set up by the time she had needed it. “It connected.” Luna noted. Now to have what was bound to be one of the more awkward conversations that had happened recently. This really wouldn’t have been her first choice to let the ‘outside world’ beyond the council know that the Sol Senshi were back again and the various implications that came with it but she didn’t really have a choice in the matter. She felt just a tad silly for not trying this previously. It hadn't crossed her mind to try.

A pony tailed brunette was the one who answered the call. “I am Sailor Star Maker second in command of the Starlights. Our leader is out now, so I’ll be forwarding everything to her. It’s been a long time since we’ve had anything coming from your corner of the galaxy.” Star Maker introduced herself.

“Luna guardian and adviser to the Sol Senshi. I have only made limited communication recently. Otherwise you would have heard from us sooner.” Luna explained. Kinmoku had been a large ally of the Moon back in the day of the Silver Millennium. They would normally have been one of the first people to hear about the return of their senshi. With the way things were Luna had thought that it was best to not contact them initially. She wasn’t entirely sure how the old contracts would still hold, and partly because Usagi had only been just confirmed as Serenity. She wasn't ready. Luna suspected there would be no more time to wait for her to be ready for the politics that she would be dragged into and admittedly, Luna had hoped to wait to even begin to prepare her for it. Luna knew, in this way she had failed Usagi and she would work harder so this failure would not hurt her princess Usagi.

“Pleasure to hear from any of you none the less.” Star Maker noted glancing back at Pluto. “Been a long time since any of your team has reached out.” Now to see if treaties from thousands of years before would still hold true or if Kinmoku had changed too much, after all such things happened even without anything that had happened to them.

“My fellow senshi have been slumbering since the fall. They only recently awoke again.” Pluto explained. “I myself have been on regulated duty I was only recently released from to serve another purpose.”

 “Regardless of why your active it is good to see someone that was an old ally back in our early history.” Star Maker may have only heard about the alliance. But she had read enough to know they were important, and it would be a sign of hopefully good things to come. “I’m assuming you aren’t just calling for pleasantries though.”

“There’s been a situation you will want to hear.” Pluto started before launching into what had just been happening recently.

End Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this. Hope everyone enjoyed it. 
> 
> Next chapter is on the 15th. Here's the preview: 
> 
> Right now she was over at her parent’s place talking to them and Jade. Trying to see if she could find any last minute clues before they left for the Dark Kingdom. Jade shook her head after a moment of thought. “No but then again I wasn’t even really aware of what I was before I went to the Dark Kingdom while I was there. It feels like who I was before, who I was when I was there, and who I am again are all different people. If that’s how I felt then I think anyone else in my position would be similar. Sorry I can’t help more.”
> 
> “It’s fine Jade, it was a long shot to begin with.” Usagi said giving the other girl’s hair a ruffle. It was basically what they had heard from Countess Rose when questioned. No self awareness of who she was or had been really. And no idea there were others like her out there by extension. The one last hope they had in identifying others like Jade and Rose outside of the compact vanishing with it. Even if it had been a long shot. 
> 
> “How many people are you going to be looking for at the Dark Kingdom?” Her Mom asked. Indirectly trying to get a better idea of just how long her daughter was going to be in the heart of enemy territory. 
> 
> “Our court and our sister court was made up of 30 people.” Jade answered for Usagi. “I don’t know if all of them were transformed to be youma though. A couple of them were older members that had belonged to their parents court. Older then Countess Rose is. So they probably would have less of an interest in whatever drove us to the Dark Kingdom I think…or maybe they would have more.” 
> 
> “The unknown of just how many there are out there makes finding the people who are in Jade’s situation difficult. We have a baseline to work off of but there could be less of them. Some may have died some may never have gone to the Dark Kingdom. But…I do kind of think there’s more of them out there.” She doubted and hoped that every youma they ran into hadn’t been human at one point or another. But Zoisite and Masato had said that a lot of the regional courts had been lost or disappeared in the chaos that had been Elysian’s fall. It was possible that Beryl and Ruby’s courts weren’t the only ones they would encounter. Something she had to acknowledge and realize it meant they might be rescuing a far larger number then they might have anticipated to begin with. 
> 
> And that's a wrap for now. 
> 
> Again please remember to leave a review or a comment. See everyone on the 15th.


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